Phoenix and the Wolf
by swoosh-98
Summary: When she first moved to the small town of Bakuten, Kassandra expected the quiet life. However, she soon discovers that death, hatred, and mystery follow the man named Phoenix.
1. Meet the Family

Hello! Okay, this is my 4th story (haven't finished my third yet) and a warning for those who don't know me, I am a major procrastinator. I take a very long time to update so please don't try and kill me.

On another note, I came up with this idea in the summer, wrote it down in a book and now I am posting it. Of course it is a beyblade story (I love Kai!) but there are no beyblades because the battles are hard to write and I need some harder core stuff (battling tops just doesn't cut it). Anyways, there will be lots of hate, little bit of love, and a whole lotta butt whipping in this one. And I decided to bring Kassandra back with more attitude but still emotional.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade but Kassandra Woolf, Sara Sanders/Hau, Richard Hau, and other unfamiliar faces belong to me. So no stealing!

* * *

Chapter 1: Meet the Family

"Flight 427 has now arrived in Tokyo"

I hitched my backpack higher up on my shoulder as I glanced around the airport. My name is Kassandra Woolf and I had just arrived in Japan from my hometown Moscow, Russia where I lived with my dad. However, my mother wanted to see how well her daughter has grown since she walked out on us when I was two and demanded that I come and live with her for a year. Not being able to pay for a lawyer forced my dad to agree to my mothers' terms.

Now I am here in a foreign country, to live with the mother I have never met, meet my new step-family, and finish my grade 11 education. I have been forced to leave my dad, friends, and perverted next-door neighbor behind (I don't think I'll miss my neighbor that much), I am so going to hate this.

Compared to most of these people's tan skin and narrow eyes, I have snowy white skin and emerald green eyes. I love my eyes because they look exactly like my grandma Sander's eyes, who is my mothers mother but hasn't actually spoken to her daughter in 14 years (when my mother left).

Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper I read over the letter my mother had written to me a week ago. On it was what I should bring, what I shouldn't bring (like baggy clothing but I brought anyways), and who I am to meet. Everything was so formally written I have to wonder if she's a robot or is high class. Included with the letter was a picture of her new family with their names written on the back.

"Okay, so I am meeting Sara Sanders, now Mrs. Hau, her husband Richard Hau, and step-brothers Robert, Bryan, and Ian. Just calm down Kassey, all you have to do is act like the ultimate non-caring, world hating female. You can do this," I kept repeating their names and looking at the pictures continuously while I wandered through the airport looking for the faces from the picture.

At the other side of the lobby I spotted a woman and four men. She had blond hair and brown eyes and was checking her nails. The youngest of the men was playing a game boy while the other two were looking over the shoulder of the oldest man who was doing something on his laptop.

"Please no…" I whispered and checked the photo one last time. There is no mistake, definitely my new extended family. I pushed away all my thoughts of running and kissed the charm bracelet I never take of that my dad had given me when I was five and marched straight towards them. My heavy boots gave my mood and added effect because every time I took a step it would sound like I was stomping. Soon Sara Hau will know that I don't want to be here, if my attitude, clothing, and constant planned chatter of dad won't be an obvious clue.

I came to a stop right beside the blond haired woman who was still looking over her nails. Swallowing my pride I decided I had to speak first.

"Excuse me, are you Sara Hau?"

I swear the ditz jumped five feet in the air. The four men looked up from what they were doing to stare at me. I guess I do look a little strange with my messy black hair, faded jacket, and giant boots but I don't care. They're all assholes anyway.

"Don't you know you shouldn't sneak up on people! Who are you anyways?" Wow, did she look angry.

'My name is Kassandra Woolf, I you aren't Sara Hau I'm leaving," I actually turned to leave but the witch grabbed my arm and forced my to turn back to her.

Suddenly her face was right in front of me and those eyes were moving up, down, and around as if analyzing a scientific formula. Best part was she didn't look me in the eyes once.

"You look exactly like him, fashion and everything" she mumbled.

"Well" I said "If you want me to go back just say the word because I'll be happy to oblige."

"And you have the same kind of humor too. Richard, boys, this is my daughter Kassandra." The men just stared…

And stared…

And stared…

"Yes, I am a girl, don't let the clothes fool you" I said after a minute or so of silence.

"Oh, well hello and welcome to the family," Richard said and closed his computer and stood up, "we might as well go home now, come on"

His three sons followed as did Sara who dragged me along. I could feel tear prickling at the corners of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. These people had money, but they were so cold and had no sense of humor unlike home with grandma and grandpa and dad where love was everywhere. I just wanted to go home.

* * *

"Okay Kassandra, this is your room from now on. If you need anything, just ask your maid Nancy and don't bother me or Richard with childish wants. Your brothers are down the hall but they are usually gone after dinner, which is always at six o'clock sharp. Your sister, Ming-Ming, who you haven't met yet will be back for dinner. Understand? Good, now why don't you unpack your stuff?" Suddenly I was staring at a door which was promptly closed in my face by Sara.

Scowling, I turned and took in my new room. The walls were all pink, as was the furniture, and multi-coloured stuffed animals dominated the room. I could deal with the stuffed animals but the pink would hurt my eyes after a while.

A queen size bed with a pink duvet was placed on the far wall between two large windows; a nice wooden desk was on another wall with a very high tech looking computer, scanner, and printer. Because I had the corner room, I got another wall that over looked the ocean with very large windows and a balcony. The attached bathroom wasn't bad looking with a nice shower/tub.

I flopped onto the bed and felt it sink under me. I lay there for several moments thinking about my new life. For the rest of the year I will live in Bakuten, a small town just outside of Tokyo that has a solid line between rich and poor. The area where the house is looks very nice but a good portion of the town is slummy with broken down houses, drug-trafficking and murder. Richard tried to assure me that the poor and the rich never bothered each other, like a mutual agreement but he still warned me to avoided the poor areas.

I decided it was time to unpack and got to work putting away my clothes in the walk-in closet and setting some posters of my favourite bands on the wall. As soon as possible though, the pink will be coming off. I refuse to spend the entire year looking at pink walls.

"Knock, knock, knock"

"Um… come in" I called.

A middle aged woman entered through the door. She was wearing a black dress made of cheaper material and an apron which was a clean give away that she was a maid. Her graying hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head and her face showed the first signs of kindness I had seen since I got here.

"Evening Miss Kassandra. I am your maid Nancy; would you like some help with your things?"

"Oh," I glanced into the closet "No thanks, I just finished."

"Okay then, dinner is ready. If you could please follow me I'll show you to the dinning room."

I followed Nancy along the hall, down the grand staircase, and through a set of mahogany doors into a large room with a very long table in the center. Sara, Robert, Bryan, and Ian were already seated. Nancy showed me to the seat next to my mother. Not a word was spoken between the five of us until the doors opened and Richard came in with a girl in tow. She was very short and curvy with turquoise hair and very tanned skin. The girl who I assumed was my new sister Ming-Ming gave me a look that screamed SNOB and sat down across from me on the other side of Sara.

Richard clapped his hands once and several servants came in carrying trays of many foods that I have never seen before. Not wanting to look like a snob like my step-sister, I swallowed down my fear of trying new freaky looking foods and copied what everyone else was doing.

"So, Kassandra, how do you like your room?" Richard asked. I knew he was trying to make me feel welcomed so I tried to be as polite as possible to him. However I'm not making that promise with Sara.

"Well, the room is huge compared to my room back home, and the view is very nice. I'm not sure about the colour though, I really am not a big fan of pink," I replied.

"Well Ming-Ming had suggested pink but we weren't really sure about what you would like so the decorators went along with pink. However we can have the colour changed by Wednesday if you like. Just tell Nancy what colour you would like."

"Thanks"

Once again we are back in silence.

Robert was the oldest of the four siblings at 21 years and is currently taking a business course at Tokyo University because he will be taking over Richard's business. I don't think Robert likes me, he acts kind of like Ming-Ming in a snobby way. Bryan is 19 and is staying another year in high school to take more courses. I really don't know if Bryan likes me or not, he hardly speaks and shows no emotion. Ian is the youngest of the brothers but older than Ming-Ming by over a year (17). He's actually in my grade because he failed a grade in elementary because of lack of attendance. All of the boys had purple hair and large noses just like their father.

"Well, school will be starting at eight o'clock tomorrow and I want everyone there on time. Bryan, will you drive Ian, Ming-Ming, and Kassandra to school please?" Sara said after a few uncomfortable moments of silence.

"Sure"

"Thank you"

What a happy family I have now.

* * *

That was a pretty short chapter but it is just the beginning. Next chapter, Kassandra goes to school and meets the resident rebel, fashion designer, and finds out that one of her step-brothers really hates her. Not to mention the appearance of a very good looking gang leader. So please R&R 


	2. Enter Phoenix

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. Maya Tudor belongs to me.

Chapter 2: Enter Phoenix

* * *

I silently walked behind my step-siblings across the courtyard to my new school. Everything was so nice at this private school compared to my old one. I mean, we even have to wear these funny looking uniforms with short skirts. The strange thing at this school seems to be the groups. Everyone is in different groups and it's pretty obvious who is in what group. There were the sluts, the geeks, the outcasts, the foreigners, the popular group, ect… 

Ming-Ming was no doubt in the popular group because the moment we walked through the school entrance she was flouncing away to join a bunch of other pretty girls with dark tans and light coloured hair. Ian and Bryan ditched me when they saw the outcasts and went to join their friends.

I bit my lip as I looked over the papers Nancy had given me that included my timetable, locker number, and a map of the school. I glanced at the locker numbers as I walked down the halls until I came to my own. I spun the combination in and dumped most of my books in it. Closing my locker I looked over my timetable again.

"Okay, Japanese for period A and math after that…." I kept repeating the timetable in my head while looking for my period A classroom. By now there weren't that many people in the halls so I quicken my pace, I do so not want to be the center of attention.

When I finally entered the class, it was almost full but nobody paid attention to me, which was definitely a good thing. I made my way to the back of the classroom and sat down between a blue haired girl, whose heavy make up just screamed 'Goth' and a small blob of brown.

"Hi! You must be new here right?"

Whoa did the brown blob just talk? Oh wait; it's just a very short girl with lost of hair.

"Um yeah. Name's Kassandra, I just moved here from Russia"

"Really? Is it cold up there? Oh, I should introduce myself, my name is Maya Tudor and this is my friend Mariam Lan," said the perky girl. She pointed next to me at the rebel girl who just nodded her head at me and continued to listen to her music which sounded awfully familiar.

"Are you listening to Linkin Park?" I asked.

She gave me a surprised look. "Yeah, you listen to them?"

"Of course, they're my all time favourite band!"

"Really? They're my favourite too! Don't you just love Chester's voice?"

"Sexy! But Mike is cool too," I laughed.

"You know what though; I have a better voice than either of them."

Startled, my head whipped to look at a tall, blond American who was standing in front of our desks with his hands shoved in his pockets. He was smirking at Mariam and had a funny light in his eyes. Mariam, however, did not seem pleased with his presence and one of her eyebrows was twitching.

"Shove off Parker before I shove this pencil up your ass" Mariam said.

'Parker' put on a wounded face and placed his hands over his heart. "Oh you wound me, truly you do. Will you not just say yes and join me on a date?"

"Do I look like a whore to you? The answer is no like always"

"You're beautiful when angry. One day you will see the light Mariam!" With that, the blond boy sauntered over to his group of friends.

"Um, who was he?" I asked Maya, since Mariam looked pretty pissed.

Maya giggled, "Oh that was just Michael Parker. He's been following Mariam around since grade 8 asking her to go out with him. Why don't you just try it Mariam? He might not be so bad." Maya said.

"Why? Because he's a cheater. He dated three girls at once and still had the nerve to ask me out! Plus he's an annoying jock, I hate jocks."

Truthfully I didn't know what to say but Maya was smiling and writing something on a piece of paper. She passed the paper to me with a finger against her lips signifying to be quiet.

_She so likes him_

Smirking I replied.

_Darn obvious_

However we couldn't continue with the arrival of the teacher and the beginning of class.

* * *

The cafeteria was crowded with noisy students who where spending their lunch hour talking about the busy summer they had. I adjusted my backpack to fit better on my shoulder while I searched for a place to sit. I noticed Ming-Ming and her posse sitting in the middle of the cafeteria surrounded by good-looking guys (one of them was Michael who seems to have gotten over Mariam's rejection if the girl on his lap was any sign). At the far end was the outcast group which included Bryan and Ian who I definitely did not want to sit with. A hand caught my eye and I noticed Maya Tudor waving in my direction. I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was behind me. Nope, she _was_ waving at me. Shrugging I wandered over to the table she was sitting at which included Mariam and some other people who I haven't met yet. 

Maya jumped up from her seat and pushed me to stand at the end of the table where everyone could see me. "Guys, this is Kassandra Woolf; Kassandra, this is the gang"

Lots of information for me right there, good job Maya. Noticing my lost expression Mariam took it upon herself to introduce 'the gang'.

"Kassandra meet Rei Kon, Mariah Li, Tyson Kimonya, Emily Parker, and Max Tate."

"Hi"

Why does everyone stare at me?

"Hey I know you!" The kid with the baseball cap who was introduced as Tyson said, "You're the person who tripped that asshole Ian Hau in the hall!" Now they're looking at me with expressions of appreciation.

"Yeah, he was pissing me off. If I can't annoy him at home might as well do it at school," noticing their lost faces I added, "the Hau's are my step-siblings or whatever you want to call them."

Mariam smirked. "Good, perhaps you can give me some blackmail material on Ming-Ming, that whore deserves to go done a few steps in the social ladder.'

"I'll give you some the moment I find any."

"Sweet"

The pink haired girl named Mariah leaned forwards a bit. "So how are you related to the Hau's?"

"My mother left my father and married Richard Hau when I was two. Grew up in Russia for my entire life then I'm forced to come here and meet my mother and extended family. However, I can tell that the minute I act like a bitch she'll send me right back," I said.

"You should hang around a bit while you're here though," intercepted Max, "Japan can be very nice."

"Yeah I'm thinking at least two months, I really needed a break."

"While you're here, can you help me with my Russian?" asked Emily, "I don't know why I signed up for the course and I will definitely need help because languages aren't my thing."

"Sure"

"Hey there Mariam"

Here comes Michael again. He always seems to randomly show up and piss Mariam off. I am not sure if he does this for fun or if he really does want to go out with her. I'd like to suggest form him to back off because Mariam's eyebrow is twitching again, but I don't know him well enough to even say hello.

"What do you want now Parker?"

"Just giving you another offer…"

"No"

"It won't be that bad"

"No"

"I'm a good kisser"

That seemed to be the final straw. Mariam smoothly pushed her chair back and stood up. However, she didn't do what I thought she would do (like kick his butt!), instead she came to stand a mere breath away from Michael. Close but not touching. Michael appeared to be barely holding in some excitement. Almost the entire cafeteria was watching this scene, including the girl who was sitting on his lap at the beginning of lunch.

"So, you're a good kisser are you?" Mariam whispered.

"The best"

"Really, so you think you're better than me?"

"You wanna find out?"

Mariam smirked and leaned in towards him. Michael seemed to have frozen with the close proximity, or else he was wondering why Mariam would kiss him (I think everyone else was thinking the same thing). The second Michael started to lean down; Mariam brought her knee up right between his legs. She stepped back to watch the American hunch over in pain.

"You know Michael I have tried constantly to tell you this so you better listen up," Mariam placed her fingers under his chin and gently forced him to look up. "I will only date a man who will be committed to me. So when you say 'Will you go out with me?' that means I will not share you with other women because I hate to share. So if you really want to date me, I suggest you prepare yourself for it. Now, I do believe your girlfriend Chantelle would like to speak with you, so toodles."

By the time Mariam had arrived at the cafeteria doors, I guess the pain had disappeared because Michael seemed to have regained his ability to speak.

"I never turn down a good challenge Mariam." The blue-haired girl turned to stare at him, waiting for him to finish. "I'll prove that I can be committed to you. So when I do show you, I expect you to keep your word and date me."

"I'll be watching" was all she said before she left the room. After a moment or so of silence, chatter came back to the cafeteria and Michael stalked away mumbling something like dumping Chantelle.

"I'm hungry"

"TYSON!"

* * *

"Damn Bryan, why'd he have to go and forget about me? I don't know my way around this stupid town." 

School had finished an hour and a half ago but my wonderful step-siblings had disappeared and left me to walk back to the house. After missing a wrong turn somewhere I was completely lost and in the poorer part of the town. People leered at me while I passed them and some older me were looking me over so I've been trying to get out of the area for the past 20 minutes but then again I don't know where to go.

Taking a left I turned and wandered down a street with broken down houses and graffiti every where. Suddenly a wall loomed in front of me signifying a dead end so I turn around to go back but blocking my path are two young and dirty looking men. I step back and watch them smirk when my back touches the wall.

"Well, well, well; what do we have here?" said the tallest one.

"Looks like one 'o deem pretty school gurls" said a short stocky on with missing teeth.

"Well I like those school girls, after all, they usually are wild in bed" grinned the first one.

I freaked. I tried to squeeze past them but a third; very hairy man jumped in front of me and grabbed my arm and waist. Truthfully, I don't think I've ever screamed louder. The man clapped his hand on my mouth the moment the scream left my mouth, making me doubt anyone would hear me. My only way out was to fight, so I struggled as much as I could, trying to wiggle out of the man's hold but he was to strong.

"A feisty one an't she?" said the short one.

"She's mine" grumbled the man who held me. I closed my eyes praying for a miracle, god I did not want to be a toy for this creep.

"**SHIT!**"

I opened my eyes wide when I took in the scene. The short man's body lay on the ground, his head completely detached from his body. The lifeless eyes just stared at the ground like he died so fast he didn't know what hit him. The man that had been holding me let go of my waist but pulled my head back so if I wanted to run, I'd have to detach my own head. It was then I noticed that both men were holding guns.

"Who the hell are you? Come out and show yourself freak!" yelled the tall man.

"There he his" screamed the hairy one as he shot at a place on the rooftop that seemed empty to me. Who ever this guy was that's helping me, I have my life to thank him for so far.

Suddenly some very shiny and pointy objects flew from the opposite direction to imbed themselves deep in the back of the tall man, hitting almost every vital body part possible so he was dead before he hit the ground. The hairy one finally let go of me and I dropped to the floor. I quickly crab walked away to hide behind a large box. Hairy man was constantly searching around him, looking for the culprit. However his efforts were in vain because a figure appeared right behind him and decapitated him in an instant.

I watched the body fall to the ground, then turn to watch the figure. It took out a bloodstained cloth and wiped all the blood off of it's sword before placing it back in the sheath.

I turned around again to face the wall. _Please don't kill me_.

A hand appeared on my shoulder and I turned to face the hero/murderer. What I found was a young man, no older than twenty with two-toned blue hair and expressionless auburn eyes. He had four blue triangles on his cheeks, two on each side and snow white skin. His clothes were a little faded but not a smudge of dirt was anywhere on him.

"You shouldn't be in these parts" his voice was sounded like music compared to the other men that were here, deep with a hard tone.

"I'm sorry," why couldn't I speak right? I seemed to only be able to whisper, "I'm new… and-and I got lost."

He placed a hand under my chin and gently pushed it up. His other hand tucked a strand of my long, raven hair behind my ear. Why I was letting this happen? I wouldn't know but those eyes were so mesmerizing...

"You are Russian" his thumb was running down my jaw line…

"Yes" was he touching my bottom lip?

A flicker of something appeared in his eyes but I couldn't tell because the next thing he did was very unexpected.

He kissed me.

No tongues, just the gently touching of a pair of lips. Now I've never been kissed before so I can say that it was very unusual but the next second his lips were gone and he was standing looking down at me.

"Follow Takashi road, it will get you out of here" he said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" I yelled. He paused but didn't turn around. "Who are you?"

"Just call me Phoenix"

Then he was gone, just like the wind.

* * *

This was a fun chapter to write. Anyways, Everyone probably knows who Phoenix is but he will remain Phoenix for some time until Kassandra learns his real name. Don't you just love kick ass guys like him? I sure do. 

I don't think Michael and Mariam actually meet in the series but their personalities are so contradicting it's funny. Michael is arrogant, hot-headed, and obviously wants to be on top. Mariam is all girl power and anti-male domination. I love it!


	3. Mirage

Yay! Chapter 3! This is definitely the most sexual story I have ever written, that's for sure. Anyways, on with the chapter.

**Chapter 3: Mirage**

* * *

"Kassandra where were you!"

The moment I stepped through the door I was bombarded with questions from my step-father. Truthfully I find this really unusual, especially since my mother was sitting in a very comfy looking chair on the other side of the room and didn't look up when I walked through the door. Richard, on the other hand, had jumped right off the sofa and hugged me until I thought my head would fall off. Maybe he had insisted I come to Japan instead of Sara?

"Well, I couldn't find Bryan's car so I tried to walk but I got lost," I mumbled. I really hope I don't get any of my new siblings in trouble because I don't need everyone in this house hating me.

"Ming-Ming had told me you were getting a ride home from a friend"

"How could I? If this random guy hadn't told me where to go I would still be lost in the slums. I really didn't tell Ming-Ming anything."

"I suppose I will have to have a talk with her later. Why don't you go and take a bath then ask the cook for some dinner. Why is there dirt all over you?"

I merely shrugged my shoulders and left. Like I'd tell you I was almost raped, the culprits were murdered in front of me, and then the murderer kissed me. Yes, what an interesting conversation that would be. Although I have never been kissed before, that guy sure knew how to make a girl weak-kneed with the whole hero and kiss the damsel thing. I mean it was nice of him, but that kiss was totally uncalled for.

_But I wouldn't mine doing it again._

I grinned at the thought and flounced my way up the staircase. When I passed Ming-Ming on the way to my room I gave her a great big evil smirk that clearly told her I was not pleased with her little stunt.

I entered my bathroom and started running the water for a nice long bath. The water in Japan even smelt different then Russia. Usually I wouldn't be so homesick when leaving home but knowing that I wouldn't be going back for a very long time made tears form in my eyes. Nothing was familiar here and all the customs would take a long time to get used to.

When the bathtub was full, I stripped my clothes and sunk into the steaming hot water and let it edge away my sadness for now. Perhaps when I'm done I'll call dad and ask him if I can get out of here for Christmas.

Half an hour later I exited the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. I had made sure to lock my bedroom door so pranksters like Ian wouldn't get any blackmail material. A flash of blue outside the window forced me to peer around the corner of the frame. I figured that I must have been imagining the blue because all that was out there was a small drop and a pitch black ocean. Nobody could've been out there, right?

* * *

After a week at school I was convinced that I needed to get my eyes checked. Everywhere I went I would see blue out of the corner of my eye, then I'd turn to look and it would disappear. When the second week came and left I realized that my eyes were perfectly fine, thank you very much, I was just being stalked by that Phoenix guy. I noticed this when I had seen his face along with the mop of blue hair looking straight at me. Usually normal people would back off once they've been spotted, but this guy just showed up more and more. Sometimes he'd even make sure I saw him and would stare right back, smirk, then disappear.

I really had no idea what was going on. Did he like me so much he was stalking me? Was it a coincidence he happened to be every where I went? Maybe he was so bored he decided to follow me for the fun of it. Truthfully I think it was the latter because one time when Ming-Ming was talking up a storm about her new boyfriend, I noticed him sitting in a sakura tree, imitating her while checking his nails. I burst out laughing, luckily for me Ming-Ming had said something she thought was funny so she laughed along with me but Phoenix just blew at his nails, winked at me, then disappeared.

He's good at vanishing, that's for sure.

Right now I was sitting in the cafeteria at the usual table, talking to Mariam and Maya about random things. Everyone who always sat at our table was gone somewhere during lunch so I figured this was the best time to tell the other two my little dilemma.

"What's up Kassey? You're spacing out an awful lot today," Maya said while she played with some of the mushy cafeteria food.

I glanced around to see if anyone was listening and motioned for Mariam and Maya to lean in and be quiet. I took one last glance out the window to see if Phoenix was anywhere.

"I am going to tell you a secret, and you are not going to tell a single living soul or else I will skin you alive, got it?"

"Oh, sounds dangerous! What is it? Secret boyfriend, witnessed a murder, large bump growing on your breast… you know you should see the doctor if it's that one, could be cancer for all we know…" Mariam trailed off at my pointed look.

"No boyfriend or giant lump but I did see a murder after my first day of school."

"What?" Maya hissed, "You have to tell someone about that!"

"Normally I would, however the guys had tried to rape me and their murderer is stalking me now. Yes, I am serious, just look out the window fast," I added at their disbelieving looks.

They snapped their heads around faster than I had seen anyone do before. As I was explaining my predicament, I noticed Phoenix lurking around in the sakura tree again but the minute they turned he was gone.

"Did you see a flash of blue?"

"Hmm… Now that you mention it, I did see a bluish colour that was out of place," Mariam said.

"That was Phoenix. He's been following me since he killed those guys and saved me. I don't think he actually wants to hurt me cause he was making faces at Ming-Ming's back the other day," I suddenly noticed the impressed expressions, "What?"

"You actually met Phoenix and on your second day here? I've never even seen him before! Wow, I wish I was you," Maya gushed with a dreamy expression on her face.

Mariam decided to fill me in when she noticed my lost expression. "Phoenix is a legend here; he's like a hero but everyone is afraid of him. No-one has ever seen his face before and lived to tell about it."

"I did"

"Really!" wow, they spoke at the exact same time.

"Duh! He walked right up to me, kissed me, and then left. The guy must be able to teleport or something because he just disappears like that…" I started to ramble after telling them about the little kiss I meant to keep a secret. Now their jaws were wide open.

"He…kissed you?" Maya asked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Who kissed you?"

"Oh, hi Rei!" Think fast Kassandra, "Just my ex-boyfriend. He had the nerve to kiss me after I caught him cheating," that'll work for now.

"I thought you had picked up a guy already. Sorry about interrupting but have any of you seen Mariah? We have to work on our science project and I can't find her."

"Sorry Rei, haven't seen neither hide nor hair of her, and her hair is definitely easy to spot," Mariam seems to be very calm for having almost had fallen off her seat a minute ago.

"Okay, well I'll see you later."

"Bye"

Silence…

"So, is he a good kisser?" thank you Mariam.

"Fantastic"

"You willing to share?"

"Not a chance"

"Damn"

* * *

"Daddy, look at the pretty leaf I found!"

"That's a very pretty leaf Samantha, are you going to show mommy?"

"I'll go show her right now!"

I watch as the little red haired girl ran over to a blond woman and held up her prized leaf. That was what a family should be like. Or mine anyways. If my parents had stayed together, would I be the one hugging a blond woman like she was my hero? I really envied that little girl for having the family I've always wanted. At least during Christmas I can go back to Russia and see my dad and grandparents. Richard's noticed how miserable I've been in the past few weeks and promised me with a trip home for the holidays.

I sighed and continued walking. Bryan had once again left without me so I had to walk down the familiar street that I now take at least twice a week. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into an alley between two stores. My natural defense kicked in and I whipped around and punched the guy straight in the jaw. Oh yeah! The practice with my pillow has certainly helped.

"What the hell was that for!"

Opps, that wasn't a dirty scoundrel, it was just Michael. Never mind, close enough.

"How the hell was I suppose to know it was you, idiot! You don't just sneak up behind a girl and drag her into an alley. You could've been a rapist for all I know!" and I seriously thought he was a rapist again.

"Okay, okay… sorry 'bout that. You've got a mean punch though, I think it's going to bruise," Michael said while he rubbed his chin. "Anyways, I need your help, really badly."

"What do you want?"

"I need you to tell me what Mariam likes. What her favourite flowers are, what kind of chocolate's she likes, where she'd like to go on a date…"

You know, I think this guy is really serious about Mariam.

"Before I answer your questions you have to answer mine, okay?" I said.

"Sure"

"What does Mariam really mean to you?"

He paused before answering, "I'm not really sure how to describe it. I love the way she stands up and protects herself, I really like the way she thinks and acts on her beliefs, and I envy her for being unique to all the other girls," Michael frowned and tried to speak a few times but seemed to give up, "I can't really explain the rest."

I grinned; maybe he wasn't so bad after all. One more question.

"So why do you go out with so many other girls then?"

"I don't know, at first I was trying to forget her but… now I really want to get to know her better, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think I understand. Okay, listen good…."

I watched as Michael ran off. That guy is very interesting to be so into a girl like Mariam when so many others would love to be in her shoes. I rubbed my hand over my face and grinned, this is about to get interesting.

"I hope you don't like him."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

I spun around, screamed, lost my footing, and landed on the ground right before a very amused looking Phoenix. I glared at him while he stood there staring at me and playing with a chain hanging off his pants.

"Why does everyone sneak up on me?" I grumbled and pushed myself up to stand in front of him. "For your information, he is in love with my friend."

"I didn't ask who he liked; I asked if you like him"

"And I chose not to answer"

I felt my back hit the alley wall as he pushed himself up against me. I could feel his hard muscle pressed against my torso while his legs pinned mine in place. He feels really nice… Crap! Don't go there Kassandra! His cheek was pressed on mine and his breathing sounded extremely loud in my ear. I swear he could feel my heart beating against his chest.

"Well, if you don't want to answer, then I'll have to get rid of him and solve the problem all together."

My eyes widened; would he really kill Michael? "I don't like him, hell, I hardly know him. Why do you need to know?" I whispered with the sudden feeling to be quiet.

"Just want to know how much competition I need to eliminate."

"I hardly know you too."

I felt him grin into my cheek. "We're just going to have to change that now aren't we?" he whispered against my ear. I felt him run his finger down my jawbone, along my neck, down my side, until his hand rested on my hips. "Saturday morning at nine o'clock sharp, right here. You've seen my face so now you are an official member of my gang. You don't show, I come and get you."

I merely nodded, his hands disappeared from my side and all I saw was a flash of blue jump up the side of the building. This guy was no normal human.

* * *

Alright, so 'Phoenix' is a little OOC but it's so hard to keep him in character yet make him possessive at the same time so please don't kill me. I promise to include "Phoenix's" past in later chapters.

Next chapter, Kassandra meets the Sharks and witnesses her first gang fight.

R&R please!


	4. The Sharks that Live on Land

Yes, yes, I know it's been forever since I last updated. I had trouble adjusting to my new courses and I just lost track of things. But exams end soon and I have summer to laze around and make up crazy story ideas (that most-likely will not be posted).

Disclaimer goes here!

**Chapter 4: The Sharks that Live on Land**

* * *

"Where the hell is he?"

Boy was I pissed. I had been standing at the entrance to the alley for half-an-hour waiting for Phoenix to show his face. I was here exactly at 9 like he told me to be (I really didn't want him showing up at the mansion) and then he's the one who's late! I checked my watch again, that's it, I leaving. I turned to walk out of the alley when…

"Where are you going?"

I took a calming breath and turned to face the smug persona of the one called Phoenix. I unclenched my fists, trying to kill him may not be such a good idea.

"The time is nine thirty," I managed to say; "you kept me waiting a whole half-hour!"

For once his face held a different expression other then smugness, this time he looked surprised. "You were here on time? Aren't girls usually forty minutes late?"

"Most girls are, just not me."

He placed his hands on the small of my back and pushed me deeper into the alley. "I'm glad you're not like them, I hate waiting. Anyways, keep quiet from now on."

"Why?" I whispered. I looked up at him and could see why people would just be afraid by looking at him. The shadows from the tall building hit all the right places on his face so he had a deadly look to him.

"Because we're in enemy territory. My gang -The Sharks- are currently number one on the streets so we are in charge of all gang activity and rules. BEGA, whose territory we're in, want to take control and their leader will do anything to get me out of the picture," He glanced down at me and smirked. "If you're thinking of making as much noise as possible to get me killed, you might want to rethink that strategy. They'll kill you too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Damn, how'd he figure that I was just thinking that same possibility?

As we walked through these slimy alleys, I stuck close to Phoenix. As annoying as he was, I would rather pick him over any other alley kid, especially since he's proved he won't kill me… I think. The deeper we went, the less dirty the alleys became until we reached a large warehouse. It was in need of repair and looked empty and abandoned but as Phoenix walked straight towards the side door; I realized that this must be his gang's headquarters.

"Come on," He pushed me into the dimly lit, very narrow, hallway in front of him. He placed his hands on my waist and guided me through the maze of hallway. I knew he was enjoying this by the way his hands kept slipping down past my lower back.

"I thought this was a warehouse," I hissed as we made another turn to a dead end.

He pushed me forward until I was pressing against the wall.

"It was," he answered. I noticed his hands fiddling with something but his head moved closer to mine so our noses were touching and I couldn't see his hand anymore. "We built these walls to keep intruders out."

"But then ho- Whoa!" Suddenly, the wall behind me disappeared and I almost fell down a staircase that was hidden behind the wall. Phoenix managed to grab me and pulled me up against his chest. I never noticed how tall he really was, the top of my head only came up to his shoulders.

He smirked at my scowl and leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine. "Careful," he whispered and brushed his lips over my own, then closed the door and dragged me down the staircase. The farther we went the more voices I heard and the lighter the stairs became. I held on to Phoenix's arm tighter the deeper we went. He promised me his gang members were good guys but I still couldn't help but be a bit afraid. A single light lit the bottom of the stairwell and another door. Music could now be heard amongst the voices.

Phoenix rapped on the door a couple times. When the door didn't open, he frowned and took and key out of his pocket and put it into the keyhole. The lock clicked open but when he tried to go through it wouldn't open, and instead knock a few more times.

"I suggest you stand back," he warned to me, "I told them not use the other lock or be loud when I'm gone. Apparently they don't listen."

Phoenix took several steps back to stand right in front of me. He surveyed the door for a moment, then he kicked the door so hard that it came right out of its hinges and flew six feet before landing on the floor. Suddenly a hush fell over the room and the music was turned off. Phoenix gave me a look that plainly said 'stay here' and stalked into the room. He turned to face what was probably a crowd of people.

"Good morning Sharks," his sincerity was so fake even Tyson would recognize the sarcasm. Apparently the gang members choose to stay quiet. "I suppose you were expecting me later, correct? So with the three bosses out on business, you decided that a small party might be okay right?" His emotionless face remained but his voice got louder and sounded pissed. "Well it's not. I give you specific days for entertainment and today is not one of them. Everyone back to work! Spencer, Carlos; it's your job to fix this door. I left you in charge and you disappointed me. I will speak with you two later."

I heard shuffling in the room and Phoenix nodded for me to come in. I hesitantly stepped through the doorway and found a room filled with over twenty young boys minding their business. However, I noticed most of them secretly staring at me like some undiscovered animal (which I probably was to some). I followed Phoenix through the large room into a smaller empty one. Some very old and worn couches were arranged around a ten-year-old TV and VCR.

"Those boys don't look very old," I commented, "do they even go to school?"

"No, they don't go to school. Most of them are orphans and runaways, I just give them protection and food. Anyways," Phoenix turned to face me and gave me a very calculating stare "You are now part of the Sharks whether you want like it or not. Your job is to gather outside information on anything I tell you."

"Wait a minute, do I have to live here or something?" I really don't want to stay here…

"No, you have a home so you use it. Use television and internet or other communication systems to gather information. We don't have that here."

"Okay…anything you want me to look up?"

"Start with Biovolt Corporation, all I know is that it was a U.S.S.R. military company back when Russia was communist. I want weekly reports on what ever you've found or if you find anything at all. Meet me every Friday after school at the same alley," He said. What am I, your slave?

"Are you sure you've said everything or is there more?" I asked. Where's my notebook? I won't be able to remember everything.

He smirked, "Well, there is one more thing…" He grabbed the back of my head and crushed his mouth against mine. His lips were soft and moved sensually over my own. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to press closer to him. I really had no idea what was wrong with me but everything felt so right. At least I don't need a notebook for this.

I was really getting into the kiss when the door opened with a bang making me jump away from Phoenix, who just looked annoyed that we had been interrupted. A tall red-head stood in the doorway, and when I say red I mean red. His hair was bright red and was styled to look like horns on top of his head. His facial expression was slightly panicked and there were dirt smudges on his clothes.

He didn't even notice me but walked right past us and put a tape in to VCR at the other end of the room. The screen flickered to life and gave us a picture of several human like figures dashing around garbage cans in an alley, most-likely trying to stay hidden.

"BEGA's on the move, there targets appear to be the Night Crawlers but I can't be sure."

Phoenix's eyes narrowed as he studied the image on the screen. The hiding boys looked to be just as young as Phoenix's gang members, not to mention just as filthy. However, the orange-haired boy that just walked into view was quite the eye candy.

"Brooklyn's taking part too? Garland must be getting serious," Phoenix murmured.

"What's going on?" I asked. The redhead finally seemed to have noticed me and gave me the once over. He then scowled at Phoenix.

"Why did you bring her here? Now she's got to escape in the middle of a gang fight, great job genius." Okay… must remember that the redhead has an attitude problem.

"Quiet Tala," Oh, the devil-boy's name is Tala, that's a really weird name. "I couldn't risk being over-heard in BEGA territory. Anyways, send out your followers and track both gang movements but have them avoid fighting at all cost. Also, warn Steel about the developments and positioning of the gangs, we don't need him walking through the middle of a gang fight."

"And what are you going to do about her?" Tala jerked his thumb towards me. I think he doesn't like me very much.

"I'm going to take her home, which is why you're going to be in charge. Remember, avoid all fighting," Tala nodded once and left the room, slamming the door behind him. "That's my second in command, he's temperamental. Now, follow me."

Phoenix lead me out of the TV room and down another hallway. "Our hideout is entirely underground with only one entrance, the one we came in. However, we have many exits that can't be seen from the outside so-"

"So if you're attacked," I interrupted, "The enemies can only get through that one door where you can easily take them out or escape through your many exits and the enemies would have trouble tracking you all," I grinned at his expression. "What? It's not that difficult to understand."

Phoenix smirked at my smile. "You're really strange for a girl," I dropped my smile and scowled even more when he slapped my ass and sped up ahead. "Perhaps that's why you interest me so much."

Is he flirting with me? Jeez this guy has mood swings. But two can play at that game.

"You know, you're pretty weird yourself," I smirked when I squeezed _his_ butt and he stopped right in the middle of the hallway. I continued walking and glanced over my shoulder to see his stunned expression. "Maybe that's what I like about you."

I felt his glare at the back of my neck the entire way. Maybe I shouldn't have grabbed his ass but he was feeling mine all day and I needed a little payback. We soon came to the end of the very long hallway which turned out to be a dead end.

"So… where do we go now?" I asked Phoenix.

"Up, but first…" Phoenix paused as he pulled out a piece of paper. "Here is a map of the maze, the password to get in, and how to knock the on door to get in to the hideout. Memorize it, and then burn it. We don't need anyone else finding out about this. I will escort you half way then you're on your own."

Phoenix pushed me aside and put his foot in a hole in the brick wall. Using the holes throughout the wall, he climbed up to the ceiling where he carefully pushed up a cut piece of the ceiling. He seemed to check if anyone was around then motioned me to come up. I followed him out of the tunnel and down several alleys and dirty streets.

The sound of running feet and screams reached our ears when passing through a particularly dirty alleyway. A pair of hands grabbed me around the waist and tossed me into a large, moldy box. Phoenix looked down at me with the box's lid in his hands.

"Stay there, don't move, don't speak, don't even breath or else you'll get killed," Then he put the lid over my head and everything became black. Usually I would complain but the footsteps seemed to be getting closer.

"Well hello Phoenix, old buddy. I find it unusual to see you in these parts, so what are you doing here?" The voice sounded a bit smug and slightly arrogant but not as nearly as much as that Tala guy. Deciding that I needed a better look, I lifted the lid just enough so I could peek through. Standing across from Phoenix was a young man, over six feet with a mop of carrot orange hair and light green eyes. He was the guy from the video and would have been attractive if the look of superiority wasn't plastered on his face. Lowering the lid, I went back into total darkness.

"Brooklyn," Phoenix said, "I really would love to stop and chat but I'm in a bit of a hurry. This, of course, is not BEGA's territory so I have no obligation to fight you; if you would kindly leave…"

"I rather not," said carrot-head, AKA Brooklyn, "in fact, I'm rather interested in what you're hiding in that box over there." I heard footsteps coming closer and suppressed the urge to scream. Crap! He's going to find me! I felt the box tip and fell out onto the dirty ground where carrot-head stood over top of me smirking. "Well, the great Phoenix is hiding a girl in a box. She is rather pretty so I can't blame you for keeping her…" he grabbed my hand and yanked me to my feet. I felt a knife press against my throat. Oh no, I'm gonna die! "But you could've shared her."

"Let her go Brooklyn, the girl doesn't concern you." Hey! I have a name you know!

"How about we make a deal? This girl's life for control over the Sharks."

I meet Phoenix's gaze and knew exactly which one he would take. A girl he just recently met in exchange for his home and life? I really didn't want to die at this point in time. I never even got to finish high school, never got my driver's license, I didn't even lose my virginity yet; I really am going to die…

* * *

Perhaps not as long as I'd like it to be but… I'm trying to avoid History review. AH! I hate exams; I just want to watch CSI. Anyways, constructive criticism would be very well appreciated; I'd like to improve my writing style over the summer.

I like reviews, so please review.


	5. Fairy Princess

No, wait! Please don't kill me! I really have no excuse for making you wait this long do I? But I did get the chapter done (even though the first half was done two months ago…) anyways, I can't do anymore chapters if I'm dead right?

* * *

**Chapter 5: Fairy Princess**

I felt the knife press harder against my throat where a small, sharp pain promptly erupted. Crap! He cut me already! A drop of sweat trickled down my forehead and I clenched my fists tighter as panic took over. If Phoenix wouldn't help me, than I had to get myself out.

"You know the Sharks won't obey you Brooklyn, so why do you bother?" Phoenix asked. He shifted his weight to one leg and started fiddling with a chain on his pants. He sent a glance my way and then I realized he was stalling for time, probably waiting for backup. I of course am not that patient, especially when some psycho has a knife pressed against my throat. I brought my hand up to my skirt pocket where my Swiss Army knife was. Dad had always told me that coming prepared for anything was a good idea. Just keep carrot-head distracted Phoenix and I'll get out of this mess.

"Of course I'm aware of their loyalties, Phoenix. I know that you are aware of my talents in reverse psychology, correct?"

"How could I forget? You managed to convince Momoshiro that he was the one who killed his parents when at the time of their deaths he lived on the other side of the world." Really, now that's just creepy…Ah! There's my knife, now to find a place to put it…

"That was quite amusing, the fool was weak minded. I must congratulate you on saving him when he tried to jump. Where is he now? Six feet under yet?"

"Actually, no. He's in a mental health institute."

"Well good for him- FUCK!"

I shoved the knife away from my throat and yanked my knife out of his leg where I had just promptly stabbed him. I ran behind Phoenix and grabbed the back of his shirt. His left arm held me to him while his right arm pulled his sword from its sheath. I looked at the bloody knife in my hand and felt a wave of fear and shame. I almost died right there, was my life always going to be in danger like that?

"Damn you bitch," Brooklyn growled as he held onto his wounded leg. The blood was seeping through his fingers and had already stained his pants. "Fine keep the wench but I will get the Sharks."

Brooklyn took one last look at us before limping down the alley. Phoenix grabbed my hand that was not bloodied and dragged me through a maze of alleys and deserted roads but didn't stop until we reached Takashi road. When the cars were in sight he turned around to face me.

Phoenix pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and grabbed my bloodied hand. He gently pried the knife from my hands and it was then that I realized that my hand was trembling. I felt the cloth move over my hand as he wiped the blood away, but never once did I look at our hands. There was a distant gaze in his eyes, like he was remembering something special. The emotion I saw in his eyes held me captive, for I have never seen such strong emotion on his usually emotionless faces. Those orbs were no longer crimson, but a deep smoldering brown.

I felt the cloth stop running over my hand and was replaced with smooth, but callused hands. I looked down when he interlocked our hands and smiled. He seemed so tough, but inside I felt that he just wanted to have someone special, to feel loved.

"I'm sorry for putting you in that position. I should've kept you at headquarters where I knew you would be safe, but instead I do the complete opposite. I apologize for my stupid decision since your life was at risk," Phoenix said. I felt myself smile and look up at him.

"You're forgiven."

"Really?" Why does he look so surprised?

"Of course. But if I was dead, I'd be haunting you right now."

He chuckled, "Wow, I thought you would bitch and scream and yell then slap me in the face like other girls would."

"You should know by now that I'm not like other girls. However, the slapping thing does sound nice…" I raised my hand and smirked when he closed his eyes. He was waiting for me to slap him huh? Well how about something different.

I rested my hand gently on his cheek and buried my other one in his hair. His eyes opened and I swore I saw shock in his expression before I pulled him down into a kiss. Phoenix didn't hesitate to take control. His arm slid around my waist while his hand rested on my head, pressing me harder against his lips. I felt his tongue flicker against my bottom lip, I somewhat parted my lips into a tiny opening which Phoenix took full advantage of. His tongue slipped in my mouth as he pushed me back against the wall of a building. Everything was new to me, the feeling of his body against mine; the battle of our tongues; the strange warmth that was sitting heavily at the bottom of my stomach. Whatever Phoenix was doing to me, I wanted more.

* * *

...Kassandra… 

_Mmm…Phoenix_

Kassandra…

_What nice lips you have…_

"KASSANDRA!"

"WHAT?!"

Maya glared at me, "I've called your name three times now. Get your head out of Lala Land and help us with our project!" Maya, Emily, Mariah, and I were currently sitting in Mariah's room. The other three were working on a project for their Japanese history course while I lay on Mariah's bed dreaming about Phoenix. Hey! My group has already finished our project and all my homework is done, what else is there to do?

"Maya, I've already done my project and I don't know anything about yours', how can I possibly help?" I asked.

"How about you quit daydreaming before I'm tempted to do so myself," Mariah answered.

"Of course, we can't have you daydreaming about Rei or else you might start drooling," I teased. Emily and Maya started giggling at Mariah expression which somewhat resembled a goldfish.

"I do not drool!"

Maya smirked and decided to join in the fun. "Oh really? The other day during science I saw a little bit of spite on your chin while you were staring at Rei's back."

A blush crept up the pink-haired girl's cheeks "I was not staring at Rei's butt!"

Maya smirked even wider, "I didn't saw you were staring at his butt, I said his back."

Mariah groaned and buried her face in her hands while the rest of us laughed.

While the three girls went back to work I remained on the bed. During the week I had been researching stuff about Biovolt but what I found didn't make a lot of sense. Their seemed to be blanks missing in the information but I only hoped that Phoenix would understand what I've got so far.

"You know what?" Mariah said, "We should have a party."

"I was thinking the same thing," Maya said.

I grinned, "Ming-Ming is having a party this Saturday. Bryan and Ian are bringing some friends and Richard said I could as well. You want to go?"

"Awesome!" Maya threw herself on Mariah's waterbed, "Can we bring the gang?"

"Sure" I answered, "Sara and Richard will be there but it should be fun, especially since Ming-Ming and her slutty friends will be getting dirty and I can get some blackmail." I grinned, this will be interesting.

* * *

"Urgh! Japanese is hard enough, now I have to learn English too?! Dumb school…" I was sitting on the ground of a dirty alley Friday afternoon waiting for Phoenix to show up. After a few minutes of being bored out of my mind I decided to drag out my reading material for English class. So now I am bored out of my mind while reading a book I can hardly understand. Isn't life fun? 

"Alright, maybe I'll get this stupid language if I read it out loud. 'If it were done when 'tis done, then there - were, no, thwhere? Uh! I can't get this!" In my frustration, I painfully whacked the back of my head against the brick wall behind me. So not only did I have to deal with a third language, I also had a splitting headache. Life is so unfair.

" 'If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well

It were done quickly. If th'assassination

Could trammel up the consequence, and catch,

With his surcease, success; that but this blow

Might be the be-all and end-all – here,

But her, upon this bank and shoal of time,

We'd jump the life to come.' "

I could only stare in shock at the two-toned haired, exceedingly sexy young man who had appeared in one of the fire escapes above me. So not only was this guy, physically strong, adapt at killing people and a walking Adonis, he could also recite Shakespeare off the top of his head in a perfect English accent? What is he, a machine?

"How do you do that?"

Phoenix just smirked and flicked some invisible dirt off his leather jacket, which was probably stolen, "I'm just that good."

I moaned and tilted my head up towards the sky where I could see clouds of smog. "It's not fair, not fair at all."

Phoenix jumped down and sat beside me. Picking up the discarded Macbeth book he quoted: " 'Fair is foul and foul is fair.' " Now truthfully I would be listening a whole lot more if his gloved hand wasn't running up and down my thigh. Whenever I sit near a fire, there is a specific distance where the heat can either be pleasingly warm or uncomfortably hot. Right now, Phoenix's hand felt as warm as a fire, unusually warm for a human. Of course, it does feel really nice so I'm not complaining.

"Is your school seriously making a beginner in English read stuff like Shakespeare?" He asked.

"Uh-huh" I mumbled, still not paying attention to what he was saying. His hand was still making lovely warm patterns on my thigh. Whoa, what a second, his hand shouldn't be going anywhere near that area!

"What are you doing," I hissed, shoving blue-boy's warm hand away from one of the areas on my body that I like to keep to myself.

He smirked at my face which must be bright red by now, "You weren't listening so I had to get your attention somehow."

"Ass"

"Witch"

"Fuckface"

"Imp"

"Monkey butt sucker"

"Fairy princess"

"Wha-?" I gave him the look that I like to call the 'what the hell are you talking about?' look; one of my personal favourites.

"Well…" he smirked, "You're small and have delicate features like a fairy, also you are very spoiled; therefore a fairy princess."

I returned his grin with one of my own, "You are much more of a fairy than I am."

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"Because, a fairy can also mean a male homosexual"

His eyes narrowed into a glare as I giggled at his first look of astonishment. I got you that time Phoenix, HAH!

"A homosexual am I?"

I could only muffle a small "eep" as Phoenix's lip crashed over mine and I was pushed down onto the (very) dirty floor. His legs straddled my waist and his hands rubbed up and down my sides as our tongues played a game of tonsil hockey. I buried my fingers in his hair and started moving my hands about in a massage. He pressed harder against me, his chest pushing against my breasts while his tongue ravaged my mouth like a starving child at a feast. I put up no resistance; after all, I wanted this kind of thing too. I've never had very serious boyfriends, and I doubt he would be pleased if I called him that, but I have never gone this far with any other guy (they weren't very good kissers either). My dad wouldn't be too pleased with this combination. Phoenix is at least three or four years older than me, not to mention he's an orphan or a runaway and lives in a warehouse with a bunch of other boys. But…I released a moan as his tongue rubbed against the roof of my mouth…I can't say no, he's like a drug, so bad it's addictive.

"Whoa! I never thought I'd see that in my life time!"

Phoenix released my lips from his captivity and looked up. Standing above us was a tall muscular young man with dark red bangs and dark brown hair in the back. His deep red eyes were wide open in surprise and there were several noticeable scars running along the skin I could see, the biggest one right down across the left eye. There were several other boys nearby, all had the same surprised expression.

Phoenix groaned and stood up to face the other teen, I sat up to readjust my shirt. Why do people always walk in when we're making out?

"What's up Steel?" Phoenix asked, obviously annoyed.

"I-uh just came to see who your contact was. I didn't really expect to see you getting down and dirty with a girl."

I groaned and slapped my forehead. Standing up, I threw my unfinished homework in my backpack and pulled out a small folder of paper. "Here" I said, shoving the folder in Phoenix's hands, "everything I could find in the little amount of time I had this week. Oh, you mind not following me around tomorrow –yes, I know you're still doing it- there's a party at my house and I do not need drunk guys chasing a blue squirrel around the backyard."

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking the folder from my hands. I noticed the sharp glare he gave to the tall guy, and when I say tall, I mean tall – like seven feet tall!

"See ya next week fairy!" I said while walking out of the ally.

"I am not GAY!"

* * *

Alright, I'm going to be honest: I have trouble sitting down and writing a chapter. I get distracted so easily if I'm not fully into writing and nothing happens. I hope that my next brain wave happens sooner and I can get the next chapter up by Christmas at the latest. Please yell at me if I don't, when people get angry or disappointed with me I try and make things better. Motivation and self-control is the key! Unfortunately, I have neither quality in my personality. 

And YES, he is not gay in this story!


	6. Feeling Gorgeous

Hey! Look! I got the chapter done in one weekend! But you probably shouldn't expect another weekend chapter. This is like practice writing for English class. Any constructive feedback would be very much appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Feeling Gorgeous**

"Oh come on! Shoot Motherfucker! Shoot!"

"You suck at this game."

"Shut up Bryan, you jinxed the damn controller."

I took another sip of my chocolate milkshake and continued to watch the television screen. Recently, Richard had bought this enormous plasma television to go in the newly renovated game room. Ian and Bryan had installed their PS3 and every other gaming system they could find and were currently playing NHL 07.

In Russia hockey had always been a favourite sport among the male population but not so much with the girls. I was one of the few girls would be found playing on the outdoor rink past sundown, most often with my dad. Hockey was something I could find a connection to my dad. He had moved to Canada to play in the NHL for a couple years. There he met Sara and I was born about a year later. However, when I turned two years my dad was in a traffic collision and his knee was screwed up and never was the same, ruining his hockey career. That was also the time my dad realized that he had married a gold digger who found she could no longer be the perfect trophy wife without the cash flowing in.

I honestly didn't know that Ian and Bryan were interested in hockey, but I figure that the sport isn't the fascinating part.

"Hah! I win again!"

"Shut up! This game is so stupid." I couldn't help but giggle at Ian's face. He had slouched deeper into the leather couch and had a ridiculously childish pout slapped on his mouth. He turned to sneer at me. "What's so funny wench? Think you can do better?"

"Ian! I do not want to ever hear you calling anyone by that name again!" Richard glowered down at his youngest son whose lips quivered under the intensity of the stare. I honestly didn't care that Ian had just called me a prostitute, it wasn't the first time nor will it be the last. However, I do believe that I am a lot better at the game then that idiot. I reached over and snatched the controller from his limp hands.

"Alright Bryan, start it up," I said. Bryan gave me 'the look' but restarted the game anyways. Ian, who finally realized that I took his controller, was loudly complaining, while Richard looked rather glad that I was finally getting along with his sons.

I scrolled down the list of teams and picked the Montreal Canadiens while Bryan selected the Anaheim Ducks. Honestly the Canadiens weren't my favourite team but they had been the team that my dad played for.

Bryan was pretty good at this game, but so was I. After all, in Russia I had committed myself to only dating the cute hockey players who would either play hockey on the rink or on playstation. I smirked and watched as my virtual Saku Koivu stripped the big Anaheim defencemen of the puck and buried it in the back of the net. Now that was a nice game. Kassandra: 5, Bryan: 1.

"Whoa! Bryan, she totally just kicked your ass!"

Bryan growled in response. He probably wasn't too happy about having a girl beat him. Richard sat on the opposite couch cradling his coffee in his hands. Both Sara and Richard had decided against staying for Ming-Ming's party so the coffee was just something to keep him awake as he had dinner with his wife. Heavens knows, anyone would have trouble staying awake while Sara talked.

"Alright hotshot, let's see how you do against the Toronto Maple Leafs."

I smirked and selected the Ottawa Senators. This is way too easy.

* * *

I stared down from the second floor landing and watched all the people file in the front door. I recognized some of Ming-Ming's friends but the rest was a sea of unfamiliar faces, mostly people looking for an excuse to party and get drunk. Maya and the others wouldn't be here for another half-hour so I was just content to watch the flow of people. Ian was standing around with some other boys from my grade, most who have been dubbed the 'losers'. Several scantily clad girls were cozying up to Michael Parker. He seems to have forgotten about his determination to win over Mariam. Perhaps I'll remind him again.

I was just about to head down the stairs when Ming-Ming flounced out of her room. She was wearing a black mini-dress with a little pink heart on the chest. I honestly couldn't say that it looked exceptionally good on her. Her tanned skin ruined the appeal of some colours and those that were left often clashed with her turquoise hair. Still, she had the body most girls would kill for, nothing excessively big and the curvy 'hourglass' shape. She was also charismatic, a good student and a fine singer. However, I'm not really fond of her because of her obvious dislike of me.

"I seriously hope that you are not coming to my party wearing clothes like _that_," she sneered.

I looked down at the clothes I had on. Let's see: ripped baggy jeans, check; loose black t-shirt, check; scuffed sneakers, check; knotted, unwashed hair, check (yuck). Maybe I should find something more attractive to wear. Unfortunately, this morning I had no motivation to make myself feminine or pretty; but the unwashed hair doesn't really have an excuse.

"Anyways," Ming-Ming continued, "Your maid Nancy was looking for you. She said your friend Maya had called and was coming over early."

"Um, thanks for the message," I said. However, maybe that was the wrong thing to say.

Ming-Ming scowled, "Listen up. I am not a servant. So don't ever expect me to do this kind of thing again. Also, you are not allowed downstairs until you clean up. I won't have you ruining my party." She stormed off downstairs and joined the rest of her popular friends. I think she was getting a little territorial. On Wednesday I was paired up with her latest love interest Miguel for a math assignment, she got pretty pissed off. I think our lovely sister relationship has been deteriorating in the past week or so.

"Kassey!"

Maya was waving at me from the bottom of the stairs. As she made her way up the curved flight of stairs I noticed a bulging bag in her hands which just screamed 'CAUTION'. Of course, I decided to ignore the little warning lights going off in my head; after all, Maya wouldn't force me to wear anything ridiculously feminine. Well, at least I don't think so.

"Kassey! You'll never guess what I spent all day working on," She gushed.

"Um… a nuclear bomb?"

"Of course not! But I did put together an outfit for you to wear. It will look fabulous on you," Maya has a bit of a reputation for playing Barbie with her friends. This is the first time she has tried this stuff with me so I'm just a little nervous on what she picked out. "Okay, first you need a shower and then you can get changed and I'll do your hair. We have to get you all nice and pretty incase you kiss some lucky guy!"

I really don't think Phoenix would be too happy about that.

* * *

"Hey there sweetheart, how 'bout a dance?" I gave the drunk teenager that clearly said 'get lost' and he slouched away like a lost puppy. As much as I love puppies, it's only the furry kind with the tails that I hug. I have never got so much attention from teenaged boys in my entire life. The clothes Maya brought for me (her own creations) were nothing fancy but nice and simple. I was currently wearing a pair of form-fitting black pants with some strapped black shoes that had a small heel. She gave me a bright red halter top that exposed just a little of my midriff. To accessorize I had a gold chain as a belt and gold bangles on my left wrist. Usually the clothes would be enough; I mean, for once I was actually feeling pretty. However, Maya decided some makeup and wavy hair would finish the look. So here I am, standing in the middle of the living room with a crowd of drunk boys looking very much like a girl.

The rest of my friends didn't look as dressed up as I felt. Sure the girls were wearing makeup and the boys weren't wearing ripped t-shirts, but I still felt a little too done up. I glanced around the room. Mariah had finally got Rei to dance with her and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. Mariam and Tyson were video taping Ming-Ming as she gave a ninth-grader a lap-dance (who knows how he got in anyways?). Emily and Max had disappeared and Maya was flirting with a jock in the corner of the room. As depressing as it sounds, I absolutely hate the feeling of being alone in a crowded room.

I sighed and headed to the front door. Maybe some fresh air will clear my head and get rid of this feeling. I opened the door and came face-to-face with the one person I would never expect to see.

"Tala?"

The redhead with the bad attitude gave me the once-over. I honestly don't think he recognized me.

"Do I know you?" He asked. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable under his stare.

"Um… not really," I said, "after all, you never did speak to me directly but maybe the name Kassandra rings a bell?"

"Impossible!" Now this is really awkward, "Since when did you get hot?"

I could feel my mouth drop open in surprise, "Excuse me-"

"Holy shit!"

Sure enough, there was Phoenix standing behind Tala. Now I know I'm not an expert about boys, but I can safely assume that when they are gaping like goldfish, that means 'my god, you're the most gorgeous girl in the world'. I really wish I had a camera because his face is so amusing right now. Tala seemed to have a similar idea.

"Get a hold of yourself before you start drooling."

Phoenix managed to pull his eyes away to glare at the redhead. I honestly feel pretty good about myself.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked. Phoenix was still staring at me like he just realized that I was a girl while Tala gave me the unimpressed look.

"What do you think we're here for? Girls and booze moron." He pushed me aside and sauntered into my house. Phoenix followed behind him, wrapping his arm around my waist and steering me back into my house. Now his hands better not move anywhere from that position or there will be murder in the entrance hall (I'm not sure what to use but I can blame Tala for it).

"Kassey!" Maya was slipping through the crowd of people to reach us. The slight stumbling and unusual expression on her face told me that she was slightly tipsy. Of course by the smile on her face I knew that she was a happy drunk. "Who are your friends? I haven't seen you guys around before."

Phoenix leaned over my shoulder to shake her hand. "The name's Kai. Nice to meet you, Maya is it?"

Maya smiled more and nodded while I gave the blue haired man a confused look. I honestly didn't expect his name to be Phoenix but the fact that he told Maya his name right away while I had to wait three weeks was totally unfair. He just smirked at my look and shrugged his shoulders.

Tala, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned. He lean over and brought Maya's fingers to his lips. "Pleasure to meet you Maya, my name is Tala."

I most likely looked like a complete idiot with my new facial expression. Truthfully, who really thought that Tala could be a romantic? Maya giggled at the action and a pink tint appeared on her cheeks. Oh please no…

"Nice to meet you too. Would you like to dance?" She asked.

Tala smirked, "I'd love to."

As they disappeared into the crowd I turned to 'Phoenix'. He was look very good with a pair of dark, baggy jeans, a deep red shirt and a black leather jacket. His hair was in the usual unruly state and the pierced ear worked well on him.

"So _Kai_, how's life going?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Isn't it the name Kai a Hawaiian name?"

"Not if it's short for Mikhail."

"Ah, Russian. So what are you doing here anyways?" I was curious as to how Tala and Phoe- opps! I mean Kai showed up on my doorstep.

He smirked, "Well… you mentioned something about a party last time so I decided to drop by and make sure I had no competition. Apparently I do if you're looking that good. Is it that Michael character again?"

I laughed. "Now way, Maya just decided that it was time for me to dress up a bit."

"Well she had the right idea going." He leaned in closer so our bodies brushed against each other. I could feel his warm hands resting on my hips while his breath tickled my ear. "Is there anywhere in this house that's a little more _private_?"

I smirked and pulled away from him. I smiled at his slightly downcast face which lit up when I started tugging him towards the stairs. Typical male, but what female could ever resist him?

"Hey Kassandra," I cringed and turned to face Ming-Ming. Her eyes looked unfocused, she was swaying a tiny bit and her hair looked to have had several pairs of hands run through it (probably from that ninth-grade boy). "Want to introduce me to your friend?"

"Not really," I hissed under my breath as she fluttered her eyelashes at Kai. This girl just can't leave me alone!

Kai, however, seemed to take manners a lot more lightly than I did. Maybe he recognized her from that time when he was stalking me or maybe he just didn't like her. Either way, his words of "Get lost whore, no one wants you around" made a point as Ming-Ming stormed away to cry on her boyfriends shoulder.

"That was a little harsh don't you think?" I asked as we continued our way up the stairs.

He flipped the thought off. "She won't remember the guy with blue hair when she wakes up anyways so it doesn't really matter. Anyways, her hair pissed me off. The colour was burning my eyes."

I giggled, "Well you're hair isn't that different, except it looks more grey than blue, like an old man."

He scowled at me, "So I'm old am I?"

I continued to giggle as I opened my bedroom door. The walls had been changed to a deep purple and most of the girly stuff had disappeared besides the stuffed animals. I happen to love stuffed animals, especially the teddy bear that my grandpa gave me before he died.

"I never said you were _old_. Just that you have grey hair like an old man."

I felt his hands skim my sides and an uncontrollable shiver ran down my back. He pressed my back against his chest as his arms locked around my chest. His lips attached themselves to my neck and I felt my knees grow weak as he nipped a sensitive spot that I didn't know existed. The sound of a lock clicking brought me back to reality as I felt my feet lift off the ground as he threw me onto the bed.

Kai straddled my hips and grinned down at me. "I'd like to see how well an old man can do this."

Our lips embraced in a fiery dance of the tongues and hands roamed into unexplored areas. When his jacket and shirt came off I knew where this was leading. But everything my dad taught me about waiting until I'm older flew out the window as I felt his hard chest muscles twitch under my hands. The rest of our clothes disappeared as I reached uncharted territory that night. The feeling of our sweaty bodies rubbing against each other, the places he touched, the way he devoured my mouth. Everything was something new and unexpected; I thought it would last forever.

The next morning, he was gone.

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OH! Bet ya didn't expect that! This chapter was little more on family and emotions. Next chapter will have some action and a little bit of conflict. 


	7. Attraction

**Not much to say. The chapter title is misleading**

**Disclaimer goes here**

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**Attraction**

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Love

What is love?

Some people claim that it's a strong sexual desire for another person. Others say that love is the ultimate form of friendship and trust. Yet still many people believe that love is an indisputable craving to simply _be_ with another person. And what about those who say that to love someone is to admire and cherish them?

To me, love is a four letter word with the most complicated meaning out of all the feelings I have experienced. When I get angry or frustrated my eyes narrow and my mouth turns into a frown while I scream and yell. My cheeks will burn bright red and I'll try to cover my face whenever I'm embarrassed. Whenever an attractive guy walks past, I end up with a goofy smile on my face because he looked at me. Still, how can a person know when they're in love? Sometimes I need a sign waved in my face before I can understand something, and with love being such a complicated emotion, I'll need a very big sign.

Did I feel any sexual desire for Kai? Well duh! I wouldn't have hit that home run if I wasn't extremely attracted to him. That guy could make loads of money off modeling if he wanted too. However, if I were to place the term _'sexual desire'_, it would most-likely be in the _'lust'_ category.

If sexual desire is not part of love then I suppose I have to answer some other descriptions of love. What about the craving to be with Kai? Well, I do look forward to seeing him on Fridays but I don't really desire his presence all the time. How about "do I admire and cherish him"? I admire his skills as a fighter, but I don't really cherish him as a person.

So I've come down to my final question. Do I value Kai's friendship and trust?

No.

Perhaps people will call me crazy for saying no. After all, he's smart, brave, and witty not to mention the guy is utterly gorgeous. He could be my prince charming if we weren't missing one important factor: trust. How can someone love another if they can't bring themselves to trust that person? I have yet to build that bridge of trust with Kai and until we do reach that goal, we can't even be friends. A sensible woman once said "All love that has not friendship for its base is like a mansion built on sand."

However, I don't think that we'll ever be able to trust each other. A week has come and gone since Ming-Ming's party and I have yet to see Kai anywhere. Normally he makes his presence known; a little smirk or a wave and then he's gone, almost like he's checking up on me. But not once has he dropped by this week. Perhaps I'm being clingy but it's not normal. I'm beginning to think that either something really bad has happened, or I've been used.

I know if I want to trust him I shouldn't be having thoughts like that, but any other girl in my position would probably feel the same way. I do not regret meeting him but I definitely shouldn't have had sex with a guy I only met a few weeks ago. Every time I think about that night I only realize how whorish I was. I must admit, my self-esteem has taken quite a beating, all from myself.

I mean, nobody wants to know that all they are is a sex toy, which their only purpose in any relationship is to be used and then thrown away. I hope to never be the victim of dating prank in which Mr. Niceguy is really just toying with my affections to have some fun. I dread those situations.

I find my own situation rather amusing, I don't love Kai, but I would hate to lose him. So once again I'm sitting in this disgustingly dirty ally waiting for Kai to _magically_ appear. I don't really know why I'm nervous, maybe because I haven't seen him since that night, or perhaps I want to know if he's okay. However, all I know is that I want to see him or even hear his voice.

The sound of footsteps startled me out of my thoughts. Coming towards me was a large male figure whose strides seemed to almost hesitate, like he didn't want to be here. Now I'm concerned. Kai would never just "walk" down the ally, he has to pop out of nowhere and scare the hell out of me. Anyways, this guy is _way_ too tall to be Kai, almost seven feet tall…

"Hey Kassandra"

Standing before me was Steel; the tall, muscular, yet heavily scarred Russian. He looked a little uncomfortable and was shuffling his feet in an awkward manner. Oh God, I hope he isn't crushing on me or something because that would just be weird!

"Um hi… Steel is it?"

Wow! What a gorgeous smile that man has. I would've never thought that a simple smile could turn a warrior's face into that of a boy's.

"Well, the guys call me Steel, but you can call me Benji if you'd like" He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, prompting forth a giggle from my lips. I can't help but see a giant teddy bear standing before me; he looks so huggable!

"Alright then, Benji it is!" I couldn't help but to return his smile, "so, what's up?"

The smile slipped from his lips and he began to shuffle his feet again. Worry began to seep into my bones.

"Is something wrong? Did someone get hurt? Oh God, I hope it's not Kai!"

Benji gave a shaky laugh and shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. Nobody got hurt, especially not Phoenix. That guy has never even been cut."

"Well, what's wrong then?" I admit I am extremely curious about what is going on. Why is he stalling?

"Um…well" Benji scratched his head again and took a deep breath. "Phoenix doesn't want you researching Biovolt anymore."

I stared at him. Hard. "Anything else you'd like to add?" I have to know…

Guilt consumed his face, and for some reason I knew what words would be coming out of his mouth next.

"He also says that you are no longer a member of the Sharks."

An icy cold sensation flowed down my throat into my stomach. There it mixed with my afternoon snack and a nauseous feeling traveled back up my throat to rest in my mouth. I tried to push it back down and swallow this feeling of rejection, but my eyes became watery and my mouth wouldn't make a sound.

_I was used._

"Why" I managed to choke out. Benji's eyes were tearful and through my own misery I could tell that he was unhappy to be the one delivering the news.

"I honestly don't know Kassey," he whispered. I squeezed my eyes closed, allowing the tears to slip down my cheeks. A pair of arms wrapped around me, pulling my shivering body into Benji's chest. A sob escaped my lips, closely followed by another one. I hate crying, it makes me feel weak like a little girl. But the thought of rejection is too strong to ignore and I can't help but ask myself: what did I do wrong? More importantly, why am I crying over a guy who I don't even love?

"Please don't cry," Benji whispered. He tugged my head away from his shoulder and stared into my puffy eyes. "You have every right to yell and scream and bitch about him but Phoenix does not deserve your tears! You have to promise me that you won't cry over him anymore after today. I want you to go out there and find yourself a man who will treat you like the princess you are, alright?"

I couldn't help but agree with him. Such kind words coming from a complete stranger can really make a girl feel better. "Okay," I whispered, "I promise."

He gave a sad smile, "There's a good girl. Now I want you to go home and take a nice bubble bath and wash away all those tears."

He nudged me towards the road and watched over me until I reached the street. As I was turning the corner, I looked back and saw a gorgeous man with a leather jacket and two-toned blue hair. Pushing away the urge to cry more, I gritted my teeth and continued my way home.

* * *

The chatter of my fellow students is annoyingly loud today. As I watch them wander into math class, smiling and laughing, I can't help but wonder why every one is so happy today? Maybe the cafeteria is serving chocolate cake or something because I do not know why people are so cheerful nowadays.

I've managed to survive the past week or so since Kai dumped me in the absolute worst way ever! However, I still can't make myself made at him because every time I do, I start to think that maybe _I_ was the one at fault. Sometimes I believe that I am just an insignificant person who can be thrown away like garbage. I know I shouldn't be having these depressing thoughts but I can't help but feel _worthless_.

My math teacher, Ms. Kincaid, signaled for the class to quiet down. I honestly don't care anymore about math. I have never been very good at it and learning in Japanese just makes everything harder to understand.

"Okay class, quiet down please." Ms. Kincaid waited until everyone was seated before continuing. "Since our unit is coming to an end, you will once again be doing a pairs assignment!" The class groaned in annoyance while I dropped my head onto the desk. Did I mention that I hate math? "I'll remind you that this assignment will be taking marks away from your unit test; so if you do well you might get a higher mark. Also, unlike the last assignment, you get to choose your own partners." Some sighs of relief escaped from the students while I felt my happiness meter hit an all-time low. I have no friends in this class.

"Now go and sit with your partner while I hand out the problem. You may use this class to work on the assignment or do the review for our upcoming test." The scrapes of chairs and the chatter of friends greeting each other echoed around the classroom. I glanced around for someone who I knew. Well… Ming-Ming is in this class but she won't work with me, Michael Parker is to my left but he has already paired up with the basketball player Eddy. Other than those two, I don't know anyone. How depressing.

"Hey Kassandra, do you have a partner yet? If not, would you like to work with me?"

I am honestly surprised that Mystel Ramirez has just come up to me and asked to be my partner. I mean the last assignment we worked together on turned out to be more like a tutoring job for his part.

"Um, sure; but are you positive you want to work with a horrible math person like me?" I asked.

"Aw! I don't think that you're bad at math; you're just a little behind, that's all. Anyways, I saw a lonely, yet pretty girl, sitting here all by herself and decided to make it my duty to get her to smile," Mystel grinned and I couldn't help but smile back. The blond hair and tanned skin gives him the appearance of a surfer and those baby blue eyes only hold laughter and delight. Maybe I can find someone else, just like Benji told me to.

* * *

The relaxing nature of the park is just what I need to unwind and sit back, take a break from the household, school and any other depressing things that filter into my life. Maya and Mariam had decided that they needed a break too and joined me under a nice shady tree. People usually do not come by this area of the park so the chirp of the birds and the leaves rustling in the wind are the only sounds on this quiet afternoon. Of course, nothing remains quiet for very long with three girls.

"So Kassandra," Mariam began, "I've heard some interesting rumors recently."

"Yes," Maya added, "Very interesting rumors."

"And what would those rumors be?" I asked. I already know the answer but I decided to humour them for a while. After all, they have probably been rehearsing this conversation.

Maya grinned, "Something about the class hottie asking you out a few days ago."

"Oh!" I said, "That's old news, try something else."

Mariam sighed, "Come on Kassey, did he really ask you out or not?"

I felt the warmth of the sun hit my face while I debated what to do. Yes, Mystel did ask me on a date; however, announcing the news would make everything official. Making the relationship official would be forcing me to get over Kai. Should I or shouldn't I?

I felt a lump go down my throat as I swallowed my pride, "Yes he did ask me out, last week actually."

"WHAT!" Ouch! Can those girls screech!

"Last week?"

"And you didn't even tell us?"

"What kind of friend are you?"

"You are _so_ evil Kassey"

I scowled, "Hello! It's not like we're Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt! There is nothing fascinating about two regular teenagers dating. Anyways, I wasn't even sure if we would get past the second date."

Maya shook her head exasperated, "Kassey, we're your friends. You should be telling us stuff like this!"

"Come on Maya!" I laughed, "Then I guess you have to enlighten me of your night with Tala two weeks ago."

Maya bit her lip and looked away while Mariam and I giggled, "I can't tell you anything because I don't really remember."

"OH! How scandalous Maya!" Mariam teased.

I cut my giggles when I noticed a shadowy figure walking towards us. The sun hit his back making the front of his body dark. However, I did recognize the winged-shaped hairstyle, something I thought I would never see again. Maya seemed to have the same idea as me because she is watching this guy very closely. I held my breath as he came closer to us and shielded my eyes from the burning sun so I could look at his face.

The sun's orange beams fell across the tanned skin of Mystel Ramirez. His blue eyes are shimmering and a wide grin is stretched across his face. I smiled back and let him pull me to my feet. As I brushed myself off, I noticed the disappointment etched across Maya's face; she was obviously hoping for someone else. Funny thing is, so was I.

"Are you ready to go Kassey?" Mystel asked.

"Yup!" I turned back to my friends, "I'll see you at school tomorrow girls."

"Bye guys! Don't do anything indecent!" Mariam yelled as Mystel and I made our way out of the park.

We were heading to the Mall where I saw an adorable necklace the other day that I really wanted but didn't have enough money for. Mystel offered to escort me and to make it a date. I agreed. We made our way down the streets, joking about teachers and people at school.

"…Can you believe it? Michael actually tried to hit an orange with his baseball bat!"

I laughed at the American's foolishness, "Let me guess, it blew up in his face right?"

"Bingo!" Mystel snickered, "there was orange pieces everywhere. Best part was, it happened right in front of Mariam!"

"I bet she was impressed."

"I couldn't really read her expression; it was something between disgusted and amusement. Anyways, he hasn't touched an orange since."

"Probably afraid he'll ruin his hairdo again," I giggled at the image of Michael, screaming like a girl while running away from the orange that fell out of his lunch bag. "Oh! That reminds me of the time in Biology, and we were starting an experiment with mice. Do you know Crusher? Well one of the mice got loose and he just freaked! I never thought that he would be afraid of a little mouse," I noticed that Mystel l wasn't laughing. Instead he had a bizarre look on his face, "I suppose it's a 'you have to be there' thing but it was really funny-"

I never even saw his hand. The impact surprised me so much, and was so forceful, that I lost my balance and fell on my butt on the sidewalk. I held my stinging cheek as I tried to refocus my eyes and mind. For some reason, I could not believe what just happened.

He slapped me.

"Oh God! I am _so_ sorry! I have no idea where that came from, I really don't know what came over me," Mystel bent down and put his hand on my knee. I focused my eyes on his and I could only see true, sincere, concern in his eyes. Pushing any fear to the back of my mind, I left him help me up and only half listened as he promised to make it up to me by buying me that necklace. He sounds really sorry so I decided to let him lead me to the mall. I mean, a sweet guy like Mystel would never, _**ever,**_ slap a girl unless he was really mad at her. I guess that means I'm at fault.

It's always my fault.

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**Kassey is going through a change, and it may not be a very good one for her.**

**Read and review please**


	8. The Demon

**Hey look! I updated in less than three months! Something different compared to my usual six month break. Since its summer time, I'll have a lot more time to write, especially because I'm stuck working all summer. No summer vacation for me this year.**

**Disclaimer goes here**

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**Chapter 8: The Demon**

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I followed the crowd of my fellow teenagers as we shuffled into the cafeteria. Majority of the herd formed a line to get lunch while I headed over to my normal table where Ray and Mariah had already taken their spots. I murmured a greeting and sat down by the window. Pulling out my lunch bag, I glanced over and saw the two deep in conversation with one another. I smiled; they were so focused on each other that neither one noticed that I was sitting at the table. 

I turned back to my lunch and my stomach churned in disgust. The typical peanut butter and jam sandwich with a juicebox and an apple rested in front of my nose. Usually, I would have cookies or some sort of high in fat yet really yummy desert. However, recently my appetite for food has all but disappeared, leaving me to force down healthy alternatives like this PB and J sandwich. I took a bite of my sandwich, I already skipped breakfast and missing lunch would have me passing out by this afternoon.

"_The more you eat, the fatter you get."_

My jaw stopped moving and I forced myself to swallow the mushy food in my mouth. I looked again at my sandwich. The smell of the smooth peanut butter invaded my nostrils and the sight of delicious raspberry jam dripping down the bread had my mouth watering. My stomach stopped rumbling at the thought of Mystel's insensitive comment. I don't think he really said it to be mean, he was probably just trying to be funny.

I look back over our three week relationship. Usually when he makes a joke, he cracks up before even finishing the punch line, somewhat ruining the idea of making the joke. However, there was no laughing, no smile; even the normal twinkle in his eyes was gone. The look on his face reminded me of Robert when he reprimands me for not following the Japanese customs properly, making me feel stupid. Is it normal for a girl's boyfriend to tell her that she's fat?

I raise my gaze from my sandwich to Ray and Mariah. Their giggling and smiles told me that a real relationship should be full of happiness and comfort. Not this unsure atmosphere I always carry around myself whenever I'm with Mystel. Maybe I should tell him about my uncertainty with what he said to me, tell him that I don't appreciate the comment about by my bodyweight. Afterall, I may not be a toothpick, but I'm not a whale either.

I smile into my sandwich, glad that I decided to take the time to analyze over a comment that has been bugging me for the past few days. I took another bite of my sandwich, grinning as my empty stomach rumbled in delight.

"Hey Kassey, what's up?"

I smirked as Maya sat down opposite me, "nothing much, just enjoying food."

"I'm glad to see that you're eating again," Maya said as she took out her own lunch, "I almost thought you were going anorexic on me."

"Na," I mumbled, "I just wasn't having a good week. I'm feeling a little better now."

"Well that's good to hear, you did seem a little down. So how are you and Mystel doing?" Maya asked.

I tried to avoid her inquisitive eyes by waving Emily and Mariam over to the table. "We're doing fine, nothing really exciting."

"Is that so?" Maya's stare was a little unnerving so I decided to tune into Emily and Mariam's conversation.

"You are so lucky to have such a caring boyfriend like Max. All I have is some stuck up jock who spends all day trying to impress me," Mariam said.

"Aw… Give the guy a break Mariam," Emily responded, "He's working really hard for you to notice him. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"Honestly," Ray joined in, "He's liked you since grade six when you gave him a black eye for looking up your skirt."

I made a face. "Does Michael get turned on by pain or something?" I asked.

Mariam shook her head, "No, he just likes me because I'm the only girl to turn him down."

I smirked and winked at Maya, "I don't know Mariam, he asked me out when I came to Japan but I turned him down. I don't see him sending me flowers and chocolates."

Mariam blushed, "How do you know he does that?"

My smirk widened as I tapped my forehead, "I know everything."

The interrogation ended as the shriek of the bell rang throughout the nearly empty cafeteria. I sighed as the group cleaned off the table and slouched off to our next class. When we reached the hallway, Maya and I waved good-bye to the others and headed off to art class.

"So, you wanna come over to my house tomorrow night for a sleepover?" Maya asked, "My parents are going on a business trip and they said I could invite one friend over for the night."

"Sure, Richard and Sara probably won't care," I answered. "But only if we can watch Pirates of the Caribbean."

Maya grinned, "How do you spell hott?"

"J-O-H-N-N-Y D-E-P-P!!" I squealed.

* * *

"Mmmmm" I sighed, as delicious hot chocolate flowed down my throat into a pool of warmth in my stomach. If I have any big weakness, it would have to be hot chocolate. Even over flowers, jewelry and vacations, nothing can compare to the amazing chocolaty taste of a good cup of hot chocolate. 

I gazed out the window of the coffee shop. The chilly wind was dancing circles around those who were caught outside, catching hats and lifting up the women's skirts. I smiled and cradled my lovely hot chocolate. Sitting at a table beside the window, I decided to enjoy my time alone before I end up at Maya's house being interrogated about my relationship with Mystel.

My lips pulled into a thin line. The thought of Mystel still irritates me, knowing that he might have purposely called me fat. I shivered as the door of the coffee shop opened, letting in an icy blast of wind. I continued to stare into my nearly empty cup of hot chocolate, now I'm going to have to buy more.

I got startled out of my thoughts as a hooded figure sat down opposite me. His baggy black hoodie hid the upper part of his face while the rest of his clothes remained hidden by the table. He took a sip of his coffee and smirked at me. I scowled and glanced around the shop, noticing how many empty tables there are.

"Um… do I know you?" I asked.

He smirked, "Not really." Okay, that voice sounds familiar.

"Are you sure? I feel I've met you before," I said.

The guy's smirk widened and he pulled back his hood a little bit so I could see his entire face.

"You!" I hissed. Staring back at me was a pair of ice blue eyes contrasting against the snow white skin of Russian blood. Blood red bangs draped his face and the self-satisfied smirk grew at my outburst. "Tala, what are you doing here?"

"My, my, is that any way to treat an old friend?" He retorted. I frowned and turned away; all he was to me is just a bad memory.

"What do you want?" I whispered.

Tala leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "I have a proposition for you," he said.

I looked back at his face. His emotionless mask is back on. "I'm listening."

"Here's the deal," he said, "I can convince Kai to talk to you, explain all his reasons for rejecting you and what not. Hell, maybe I can get him to let you become a Shark again."

I felt my heartbeat speed up at the mention Kai's name. I haven't thought about him in a long time. "You don't seem like the type to be nice for free Tala. What's the catch?"

Tala leaned back in his seat and stared hard at me. "I want you to reintroduce me to your friend Maya."

I gawked at the hooded red head. Honestly, that is one of the last sentences I ever thought he would say.

"Listen," He leaned forward again and pushed his face near mine. "I'm not the type of guy who would honestly ask for help, but I need your help and I _know_ you need mine. So either you can spend the rest of your life wondering what happened and I spend mine deprived of your best friend, or we can both be somewhat happy, savvy?"

I stared, "did you just say 'savvy'?"

"Ugh!" Tala grumbled and buried his face in his hands muttering some unintelligible things.

He promised me he can get Kai to talk to me. I mean, maybe I won't like what he'll have to say, but at least I'll be able to see him again, hear his voice. I know I really shouldn't be thinking about my ex -…uh…lover? You can't call him boyfriend material - when I'm dating Mystel, but we never really ended. I mean, shouldn't I have a say in anything? Especially if he wants our relationship to be over?

"Alright," I murmured, "I'll 'reintroduce' you to Maya and you get Kai to talk to me, face-to-face."

Tala glanced up and grinned at me, not a smirk, but an actual smile. "Maybe you aren't so bad after all."

"Here," I said, standing up, "I'm going to her house for a sleepover. You can tag along and I'll just say that I met you in the neighborhood."

Tala followed my lead and tossed his empty cup in the trash can. "You go on ahead. I'm going to get myself another cup; don't worry, I'll catch up."

I frowned, "Somehow I don't doubt that." _Especially if you're anything like Kai_

An icy gust of wind greeted me as I exited the coffee shop. I stuffed my hands in my coat's pockets and hunched my shoulders up against the wind. The wind whipped my raven locks across my face and I couldn't suppress the shiver that slithered down my spine. No matter how much time a person spends in the northern hemisphere, they can never get used to the cold.

I marched towards Maya's house, looking behind every now and then me to search out Tala. If I lose him on the way then I'll feel pretty foolish showing up on Maya's doorstep without her 'boyfriend'. I closed my eyes as a burst of wind greeted me around the corner. Of course, I probably should have kept my eyes open because the hard body that welcomed me on the other side knocked me flat on my backside.

"Oww, sorry about running into you…" I trailed off as I noticed that standing in front of me is Mystel, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Sorry Kassey," he said as he helped me to my feet, "I was just looking for you. I have something really important to show you."

"Oh … uh, can this wait Mystel? I have to get to Maya's house, she's expecting me," I lied. Well I'm not really lying considering she _is_ expecting me, only later.

"It will only take two seconds! Please, it's very important," Mystel begged, "I'll drop you off at Maya's house right after."

"Um…"

"Great! Let's go!"

Mystel grabbed my arm and pulled me down the street. I flinched at the pressure he was putting on my arm and looked behind us for Tala. A black, hooded figure was following us at a steady pace. I just hope that he doesn't decide to leave.

I felt myself being yanked forward into an alley. "Mystel! Where are we going? And can you please let go? You're hurting me."

Mystel flashed a pearly white smile in my direction, "We're almost there, don't worry." I grimaced at his fingers digging into my arm, like handcuffs into a prisoner's wrists.

I bumped into his back as he pulled to a stop. "This is it," Mystel said. I looked around, this is just some abandoned alley, a few rotting crates, a nasty smell, but nothing exciting.

"How romantic," I deadpanned. "What is so important in a smelly alley?"

Mystel just glanced at me, "nothing that really concerns you."

"What are you talking about…?" I trailed off as I noticed a tall figure standing on the rooftop of a crumbling building. His long, light purple hair was tied into a low pony tail and was whipping back and forth in the wind. His eyes were fierce and focused directly on myself. I couldn't help but notice the red dot on the center of his forehead.

"Hey Mystel, do you know who-" I screamed as someone grabbed me from behind and lifted me high off the ground. I kicked my feet back and forth, trying to hurt him as much as possible. There were voices all around me, yet my vision had clouded in fear, making the faces non-existent. I screamed louder and jabbed my elbow into the man's stomach, feeling some slight satisfaction as he grunted in pain. Suddenly, my head was yanked forward and a strip of cloth was tied around my mouth. I stared in horror as Mystel looked down at me again once he finished tying the knot at the back of my head, a sad smile stretched across his face.

"Don't take this personally Kassandra. We have nothing against you," he said, "Alright Crusher, let's go."

A blow to the side of my head brought a sharp, skull splitting pain, making white fairies dance across my vision. I heard voices and an angry shout then my body was being picked up and I felt myself moving. As my vision blackened, I remembered that Tala was following me. Maybe, he would get help… maybe….

* * *

A soft, fluttering whisper of noise was what woke me from unconsciousness. Although I couldn't fully comprehend what was happening and my senses were still a little fuzzy, I knew I was in trouble. The pain in my head returned and I squeezed my eyes shut and willed for the pain to leave. However, my skull wasn't the only thing in pain. As my sense of feeling returned, I noticed that my arms and shoulders were sore and that my stomach was probably bruised. 

I opened my eyes and was immediately attacked by the dreaded white spots which only worsened the pain in my head. I closed my eyes again and listened to the voices instead. There was some laughter, ranging from loud and obnoxious to the soft, snicker of amusement. Two people were arguing about something, one of the voices was Mystel while the other sounded familiar but his name escaped me.

I once again opened my eyes. After the white patches subsided, I analyzed the room I was lying in. I was curled up on a mattress in the corner of a room no bigger than my closet. The walls and floor were of grey cement and the one window in the room had no glass, just steel bars, letting the cold wind flow through. There were no lights in the room and the wall of another building blocked the natural light from peaking through the window, making it impossible for me to tell what time it was.

My hands were bound tightly behind my back, probably explaining why my shoulders and arms were sore. The piece of cloth was still stuck in my mouth, leaving me with a disgusting dry taste. My legs were free but as I sat up and put pressure on my left foot, a sharp pain shot up my leg, having me recoil my foot with a hiss. I don't remember doing anything with my feet so why would my ankle be twisted?

_Unless they twisted it so I couldn't escape!_

I fell back onto the mattress, suddenly feeling tired and hopeless. All I wanted was to survive through one semester of Japanese high school, and then I would go back to Russia and be with my dad, grandparents, and all my friends. I never asked for crazy boyfriends who are actually part of a street gang; I never wanted four annoying step-siblings; heck, I never even wanted that very expensive television Richard bought for my room! So why am I the person who ends up with all this crap?

A steady pounding of footsteps snapped me out of my thoughts. The clink of keys sounded on the other side of the steel door. A scrapping sound echoed throughout the room along with the grunt of the man pushing the heavy door. The large body of Crusher appeared through the door, almost completely blocking any light that came through the opening. I tried to sit up and back away but my aching head had me flopping back down.

Crusher walked towards me, his body movements were tight and controlled, almost purposeful. His big hands reached out for me and I couldn't help but whimper and wiggle away. His hands were so big they could've easily crushed my neck. He pulled back; an unusual expression crossed the face of my classmate.

"I'm not going to hurt you Kassandra," he whispered.

He reached behind me and undid the rope binding my hands together. I almost thought he was letting me go until he moved my hands in front of my body and retied the knot. As he picked me up, my vision disappeared and I touched my hands to my forehead in an attempt to massage the pain away. Instead I came upon something liquid, sticky and warm. I pulled my hands away from my forehead and looked at the blood resting on my finger tips.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to hit you that hard," Crusher grunted as he carried me down some metal stairs. At the bottom rested about twenty or so boys between the ages of eight and twenty-one. Some of the boys whistled and made some perverted remarks while the others laughed along with their friends. A feeling of total humiliation consumed me and I decided that I wouldn't mind to suddenly drop dead.

Crusher stopped before a figure hidden in the shadows. Mystel was sitting on a crate, avoiding my gaze while the purple haired man I saw earlier stood beside him.

"Drop her Crusher," the shadowed figure said. Instead of being promptly dropped on the floor like I expected, the large man set me down on the concrete and untied the cloth around my mouth. As the cursed fabric fell away, I allowed my self to breath freely for the first time in a in the past few hours.

The figure limped forwards into the light and I almost gasped when I saw who it was. Brooklyn, also known as carrot-head, sneered down at me from his raised platform. His eyelids were widened, his pupils dilated and his grin was cruel, giving me the impression that this guy should probably be in a nuthouse.

"Hello again wench."

I absolutely _refuse_ to answer to 'wench'.

"What? No hello for your good friend Brooklyn? Tsk, tsk… that is no way for a lady to behave," he continued. I still refused to talk, however, mostly because I was still watering my dry mouth with saliva. "I definitely thought you would have something to say, especially since it was your own boyfriend who ambushed you."

I turned and frowned at Mystel whose eyes were hidden by shadows. "He was never a very good kisser anyways," I sneered. Several of the boys snickered at my comment and Mystel's lips thinned.

"Ah! So she does speak!"

"What do you want Brooklyn?" I asked, getting right to the point.

The pale skinned man grinned easily and limped towards me. He sat down cross-legged beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I tried to pull away from the contact but he held me close.

"You see, my dear Kassandra. Everyone knows who you are and everyone knows that Phoenix is interested in you," noticing my confused face he added, "as in, more then a casual fling."

"I don't know where you are getting your information from, but that was over a month ago," I answered.

"So?" he said, "just because you are over him –which I know you're not– doesn't mean that he is over you."

"So you're using me, to get to Phoenix? Why does this sound like some kind of pathetic movie?" I wondered aloud. This guy is really starting to creep me out. "You know, he won't make any deals for me."

"Well that's too bad for you," carrot-head sighed. He grabbed my chin in hand and forced my face over to his own. "Because I've got lots of plans for you and me, bitch, and they aren't very good for you."

"Brooklyn, back off," Mystel said. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him standing on his feet. Oh! After getting tossed around by a two hundred pound beast, he decides to come to my defence when another guy says he wants to sexually harass me. This could've been avoided a little earlier Mystel!

"And what if I don't 'back off'," Brooklyn sang, "What are you going to do about it? I already have plenty ideas for dear Kassandra and I. Maybe I'll let you borrow her," I shivered in repulsion, this guy was psycho.

"You are two seconds away from getting your ass kicked Brooklyn! If you say one more thing about-" the purple haired man slapped a hand over Mystel's mouth. He was standing perfectly still and breathing in deeply through his nose. The noise level in the building dropped to near silence and the psycho released my chin.

"What is it Garland?" Crusher asked.

"Smoke," the purple haired man, now known as Garland, said, "I smell smoke."

I looked around the building like the rest of the boys. A slight trail of black smoke was rising from behind a concert wall. Suddenly a wave of fire raced around the corner, everything that stood in its path stood no chance and burned up in flames. One of the younger boys screamed and complete pandemonium ensued. Boys screamed and raced for the nearest exit, tripping over one another and pushing others out of their way. I attempted to stand up and follow but my ankle crumpled beneath me. A pair of hands picked me up and I once again found myself face to face with Brooklyn.

"You ruined my leg, so let's see how pretty you'll be with your face fried," he hissed. With a quick toss, I was flying towards the growing fire. I landed on my back and screamed as excruciating pain exploded in my skull where my head smacked against the concrete floor. The smell of smoke was painful and the usual pleasurable warmth of fire was gone, replace by blistering heat.

I screamed for help until my voice died and I was left coughing as the smoke invaded my lungs. The fire had nearly enveloped me; it was so close to my skin and clothes, ready to burn me alive. I made one last yell for help before residing myself to fate. As my breathing slowed, the fire around me died down, creating an air pocket. By now the fire had created a ring around my body, about four feet away from me on all sides. Suddenly a figure emerged from the fire, not as if he walked through the fire, but he actually came out of the flames.

I recognized the black combat boots, the many chains hanging from a pair of blue jeans and the leather jacket. I recognized the two-toned blue hair, the gorgeous pale skin and the blue triangle tattoos. However, I did not recognize his eyes. They were once a burning crimson, now even the whites of the eyes were coloured an empty charcoal. _Demon eyes_.

He bent down towards me and picked me up like a fragile doll. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his, even as my vision blackened again and I felt my consciousness fading.

"What are you?" I whispered, before the darkness of his eyes finally consumed me.

* * *

**This is probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written. I was thinking of cutting it off a bit earlier but I just kept going. **

**Review please!**


	9. Sanctuary

**I figured a Christmas present would be nice for anyone who still read my story and so without further ado… Chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer goes here**

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* * *

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**Sanctuary**

* * *

"It's simply amazing, extraordinary."

"Amazing? It's a miracle she didn't die-"

"Supernatural stuff, I say, probably special powers or magic."

"Get your head out of the clouds Nurse Hataka. Magic? Honestly woman, and you call yourself a professional."

"Well do you have any explanation Doctor?"

"Not as of yet."

"Exactly"

The voices seemed to take forever to go from my ears to my brain; even longer to process into comprehensible thought. The sound of their voices was unfamiliar, which scared me; where was my dad, my grandpa and grandma? What were these people doing in my room and why are they speaking Japanese?

The smell was strange too, and very different. There was no hint of lavender, a scent that grandma carries with her at all times. The slightly stuffy smell of my home has changed to …a… is that disinfectant? Why would my room smell like disinfectant? What's going on?

I pushed open my heavy eyelids but quickly closed them as a blinding white stabbed my eyes. Groaning in pain, I rolled my head to the side and squeezed my eyes in hopes of dulling the flashing white spots painted on the back of my eyelids. My chest felt so heavy, like I had a two ton brick sitting on top and my left arm was numb. I felt a hand touch my head and one of those voices spoke in my ear, drumming into my head like my mp3 player turned on full volume.

"Can you hear me Kassandra?"

I ran my tongue along the roof of my dry mouth and tried desperately to peel my lips apart. They were too loud! Why were they shouting?

"Kassandra?"

I attempted to speak, but an oxygen mask placed over my mouth prohibited from much movement. I settled with a raspy grunt that sounded like I've been smoking for thirty years and a short nod.

The hand left my head and the woman's voice moved away, "Well, at least she's awake. Should we contact her parents?"

"Her step-brother is in the lobby. Can you let him know that she is conscience," the male voice said.

"Certainly"

The click of heels moved further away as I pondered. Lobby? Step-brother? Parent_s_? As in plural? I felt the questions bubble forth, so I once again opened my eyes. Blinking furiously at the dazzling white, I focused on the dark shadow looming over me. I began to recognize the shape of a man, hunched over something that rustled as he moved it. The man abruptly turned towards me, crouching down he placed his face several inches from my own, as if trying to help me see him.

I narrowed my eyes, the features of a Japanese man with sparkling white teeth and short black hair came into focus. All of a sudden, memories of the past few weeks rushed through my brain. Japan, my mother, Kai, the fire; it all came together into one piece. This man looks very much like a doctor so I must be in the hospital!

"Hello Kassandra," the smiling doctor said, "can you hear me? Can you see me?" I nodded slightly, or at least attempted to. The doctor must've recognized the jerking movement for nod because his smile became even wider. "Excellent. I suspect you are in a significant amount of pain right now so I'm going to give you something that will help you sleep the pain away. Is that alright?" I jerked my head into a nod, desperate for relief.

My vision blurred as he moved away towards the wall and his form disappeared from my sight. I raked in another raspy breath, feeling my throat burn with pain as the air traveled downward to my lungs. My eyes and nose still stung from the misty black cloud of smoke that hung in the warehouse during the fire….The fire! My breath hitched as my memories traveled back to Kai's appearance. The mattress creaked as I shuddered; I don't know why, but his eyes were almost _demonic_… completely black … and very… very evil … looking….

Once again, I drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

Much later, I awoke to the stream of sunlight pouring in from the window beside my bed. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room before fully appreciating the white of the walls and furniture. Other people may find the never ending sea of white to be horridly bland; however, with the bright afternoon sun shinning into the room, I felt like I had just arrived in a sanctuary. The metal instruments glittered in the sunshine, the reflections dancing across the walls like fireflies around a lamp. A heavy blanket, which was spread across my body, warmed as the sunlight stroked the surface. The abstract artwork of reds, blues and yellows that faced me on the other wall contrasted brilliantly with the starch white wall.

A pale blue chair sat in the corner of the square room, unmoved and untouched. No imprint of a person's rear marred the perfect cushion, no coffee marks stained the arm rests; but more importantly, the one man who I longed to see the most did not reside anywhere in the room.

Where was the man who would sit with me every night and read me stories of magic and dragons and princes? Where was the man who helped me improve my wrist shot so I could play in the higher level of hockey? Where was the man who taught me to not tuck my thumb inside my fist so I won't hurt myself while beating up the boys?

Where was my father?

As the first waves of loneliness washed over me, I heard raised voices outside the room moving closer. I rubbed my hand over my eyes, surprised to find that the oxygen mask had been removed. I twitched my other arm, wincing as pain shot up to my shoulder. Using my right arm, I pulled back the covers of my bed to reveal a heavily bandaged arm. The white wrapping looked new; someone must've been in recently to change it.

I jumped slightly as the door of my room opened and three people walked in. One I recognized as the doctor who spoke to me before, the other two were dressed in freshly pressed police uniforms and carried a clipboard and some papers. Noticing I was awake, the doctor hurried over.

"How are you feeling Kassandra?" he asked while checking some monitors beside my bed, "are you feeling any pain anywhere? Do you have trouble breathing?"

"I'm fine," I croaked, my throat ached from the slightest movement and my mouth was completely parched, "May I please have some water," I asked. I always figured I should be polite to doctors considering they are the one's taking care of me.

"Certainly," he said, before bustling out the door. The police officers remained at the far corner of the room, scribbling away on their paper. One of them was a short young woman with a pleasant face while her partner was an average looking male around the mid thirties. They didn't say anything or even look my way, just continued to take notes. I narrowed my eyes; Dad doesn't trust policemen or any government employee, an unfortunate result of years of corruption by the Russian Government.

"Here you are," my doctor said as he returned with a tall glass of water. I gratefully reached out with my right hand and accepted the glass. I could've sighed with pleasure as the cool liquid traveled down my throat into my stomach, relaxing my muscles. I placed the empty glass on the bedside cabinet.

"Did someone call my Dad?" I asked.

The doctor nodded, "Your father will arrive tomorrow morning. However, these police officers would like to question you about the accident two days ago," he sniffed in disgust, obviously not pleased about having someone interrogate his patient.

"There's nothing to worry about Kassandra," the pleasant looking woman said, "Nothing too difficult."

The male cop joined in, "just a few questions about what happened, what you saw, normal witness testimony."

I relaxed my face muscles, keeping my expression as blank as possible, "I'm still a minor, you're going to have to wait until my father shows up," I said dispassionately.

The woman's smile now became forced, "Yes… well, we hoped-"

"You hoped that I'd give you an interview without a legal guardian present? I may be younger than you but I'm not an idiot," I cut in. I was irritated at how they assumed I would give in to what ever they want. "Sorry, you're not going to ask me anything until my father comes."

"Alright… we'll speak to you later then," said the male officer. Together, the two police officers walked out of the room, conversing in low tones. Perhaps I may be unreasonable but I don't really want to relive those memories, at least until I understand the full situation.

"Well, since you seem to be feeling better, how about some lunch?"

* * *

The dim lights of the hallway glowed as I softly padded towards my room, careful not to put too much weight on my sore ankle. The hallway in the hospital ward was a pale peach that would normally look pleasant if not for the fact that it was currently two in the morning and much of the ward was darkened so patients could sleep. I, unlike the other over night patients, wore my own cotton pajamas: a pair of blue and green checkered pajama pants with a blue smiley face t-shirt.

My bare feet would sometimes slap against the cold floor and I'd wince, pausing to make sure no one heard before continuing to my room. Of course, I shouldn't be up at this time (as the nurses have politely reminded me several times during my stay) however I'm sure the nurses would be less pleased if they found a giant yellow, piss smelling stain on my sheets tomorrow morning. I relaxed when I reached my room and pushed open the door, satisfied that I hadn't been caught.

My father had been quite agreeable ever since he flew over from Russia. After a few tears and hugs he got straight down to business; chewing out my mother for not taking care of me. It was really a very funny site considering my dad is not intimidating at all with his missing front tooth and crinkly eyes. But he had my mother apologizing on her knees and offering to do anything as long as he didn't sue her (which wouldn't happen since my dad's family is too poor to afford a lawyer). Overall, it was a good four day stay in the hospital.

I walked towards my bed and pulled back the duvet, intent on getting plenty of sleep before I have to leave tomorrow morning. As I reached to climb into bed, I glanced up at the painting at the head of the bed. At first I didn't understand what I was seeing, it looked like the normal abstract painting but if I focus more on the reflection on the frame….

My body froze and I felt the blood drain from my face. The tall outline of a man behind me reflected in the glass. He was right behind me….

I opened my mouth to scream but a hand clamped down hard on my mouth, allowing only a muffled gurgling noise. I thrashed, using my hands, arms and feet to try and hit my attacker. As my heel finally made contact with his shin, the man pushed me down face first on the bed. I felt him straddle my back and so I stopped struggling so much, I heard that some rapists get turned on when their victims struggle.

"Are you done yet?"

I know that voice! I turned my head to the side and peered out the corner of my eye. Sitting above me was the one person who I least wanted, and most wanted to see. The high cheekbones, the strong jaw, the straight nose and the firm lips. Fierce crimson orbs stared down at me though a mop of light blue hair. I relaxed as I stared at him, content with studying such a beautiful face.

Kai released his tight grip on my mouth and pulled back. He gently gripped my shoulder and rolled me onto my back so I could stare straight up at him. Leaning forward slightly while still straddling me, he ran a warm finger along my hairline and down my jaw. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his skin on mine after so long. As he pulled back, I felt the disappointment wash over me; he was trying to stay away, he was going to leave again….

"What were you thinking?"

I opened my eyes to stare at him again. His face was still expressionless.

"Why him? Why the blond one? You didn't even know him."

"I didn't know you… I still don't"

His expression remained relatively still, besides a tightening of the lips.

"That was for your protection."

"Mystel created a character who I thought I knew. How was I supposed to know that every guy I date is intent on hurting me one way or another?"

Kai's fierce expression tightened and he leant forward. "I had to leave you; it was for your own protection-"

"Oh yeah! A lot of good your protection did me!" I glared up at him, "I end up with a psycho boyfriend, depression, a sprained ankle, second degree burns on my left arm and a concussion! I hope you are not _protecting_ anyone else because I would really pity them."

Kai turned his face away and leapt off me, choosing instead to pace the room. "I thought you would be safer; what did it matter to me about your feelings as long as you were alive. I now realize my mistake," He paused and looked at me, "I ignored your feelings. That I suppose was my greatest mistake." He resumed pacing, "Of course I have never been close to a woman before and so I foolishly thought you would forget about me and move on. I assume that is why you started dating Mystel? You were hoping to move on?"

"Yes," I whispered. This was the most he had ever said at once.

"I had people following you of course, and they tried every means possible to keep knowledge of your relationship with Mystel from me. When I heard, I was furious. I had to make sure that he was worthy enough to be close to you. I followed him for three days straight: I researched his family, friends, habits, likes, dislikes and past relationships. I thought of him as relatively normal. My second mistake."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why what?" he shot back.

"Why were you furious? Did I-"

I cut off as he took my face in his hands and held his face mere inches from mine. "Don't you dare blame yourself! I am a very jealous person. I have learnt to contain my jealousy for most of my life; however, you are something entirely different to me. Understand that I did not have the same upbringing as you and that your affection is something that I have always craved."

I nodded and placed my hands over his, peeling them from my face and entwining our fingers in my lap. He stared down at our hands before his eyes darted up to meet mine.

"You are far too forgiving."

I fought a smile, "Usually I am quite the grudge holder. It must be your good looks."

He smirked and leaned forward, resting head on my shoulder. "You smell like smoke."

"Still? Really?" I swore I got rid of the smell of smoke a while ago.

"Don't worry," he snickered, "only I can tell." He brought his head back and brushed his cheek against mine. I twisted my head to press my lips to his jaw and trailed towards his lips where he met mine in a fiery kiss. He slipped his tongue between my lips and I eagerly surrendered to him, letting him completely dominate me. I released his fingers and ran my hands through his hair, weaving the soft, silky strands between my fingers.

I whimpered as I felt him pull away, not quite content. He smirked against my lips and pushed me back against the bed, pressing his entire body against mine. I now groaned in satisfaction as he ravaged my mouth and skimmed his hands along my body, reacquainting himself with it.

When I finally pulled away, I was left completely and thoroughly kissed. I rested on my side as he lay back on my pillow, taking up most of the room on the small bed. He closed his eyes as I brushed my fingers across his face, enjoying the smooth and flawless skin.

"So… did Tala talk to you?" I asked.

"Mmhmm…" he mumbled, his eyes still closed, "Tala can be very persuasive when he wants something."

"I noticed," I remembered the deal we made; now I have to live up to my side of the bargain.

As my fingers brushed over his closed eyelids, I wondered about the day of the fire; when his eyes were as black as charcoal and devoid of any emotion. His eyes had haunted me in my sleep ever since, not a horrible nightmare, but something strange and unknown.

"I'm curious, Kai"

"Are you not always?"

"Please don't be offended or anything but…."

"But?"

"What are you?"

He stilled and his eyes snapped open, trapping mine in his burning gaze. He slowly sat up, never taking his eyes away from mine.

"I thought you were unconscious then," he whispered.

"Almost," I said, "If you don't want to say you don't have to… I would completely understand-"

"Stop. It's fine."

I waited.

"I was born in Moscow, Russia in 1987…."

* * *

**That was a sort of happy chapter; I thought that some mush might make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yes, I know that Kai wouldn't talk that much normally, but this Kai is a bit unstable (if you know what I mean).**

**I like reviews! Reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside!**


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